AstroSat: India's Revolutionary Multi-Wavelength Space Observatory Celebrates 10 Years of Astronomical Discoveries

AstroSat, India's pioneering multi-wavelength astronomy satellite, has reached a significant milestone of 10 years in space observation, as announced by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The 1515 kg satellite was successfully launched into a 650 km orbit on September 28, 2015, aboard the PSLV-C30 rocket from Sriharikota's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.

During its decade-long mission, AstroSat has achieved numerous groundbreaking discoveries. These include detecting far-ultraviolet photons from approximately 9 billion light-years away using the most advanced UV imaging system in space, identifying extremely rapidly rotating black holes, and making various findings related to X-ray emissions from binary star systems within our Milky Way galaxy.

ISRO celebrated this achievement on social media platform X, stating: "India's first observatory dedicated for astronomy. On this day 10 years ago, #AstroSat, India's first multi-wavelength astronomy observatory, was launched by ISRO."

The space agency further highlighted: "From black holes to neutron stars, from the nearest star Proxima Centauri to the first time detection of FUV photons from galaxies 9.3 billion light years away, AstroSat enabled groundbreaking insights across the electromagnetic spectrum from UV/Visible to high energy X-rays."

In an official blog post, ISRO explained that AstroSat possesses the unique capability to simultaneously observe cosmic phenomena across a wide energy spectrum spanning ultraviolet, visible light, and high-energy X-rays, making it an exceptionally versatile tool for astronomical research.

The satellite began its scientific journey by resolving a two-decade-old mystery concerning a red giant star exhibiting unusually high brightness in both ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

Among its remarkable discoveries are the extended emission from the Butterfly Nebula, which is three times larger than previously documented, pioneering X-ray polarisation studies, observations of a star undergoing rejuvenation, and galaxy merger processes.

ISRO emphasized AstroSat's contribution to popularizing space science, bringing astrophysics research to 132 Indian universities. Approximately half of the observatory's users are Indian scientists and students, fostering development of the next generation of astronomers in the country.

The satellite has also gained international recognition, with a registered user base of nearly 3,400 researchers from 57 different countries worldwide.

Operated by ISRO, AstroSat collects data through its five scientific instruments to investigate various celestial phenomena including black holes, quasars, and supernovae, substantially enhancing our understanding of the universe.

Although originally designed for a 5-year operational lifespan, AstroSat has considerably exceeded its intended duration.

ISRO confirmed that "All five scientific experiments onboard AstroSat are working satisfactorily, and the observatory is expected to continue to provide many more new and exciting results in the coming years."