The Ooty Radio Telescope or ORT has been set up to contribute to the country's research in radio astronomy. The TIFR astronomers took the initiative to build the Ooty Radio Telescope within the Radio Astronomy Center Complex in the backdrop of paradisaical landscapes. Built in 1970, the ORT helps in collecting and tracking of data from different satellites. It is also used to observe interplanetary scintillations, radio recombination and for the the study of pulsars and neutron stars.
The design of the Ooty Radio Telescope constructed on a hill is its uniqueness. The 11º slope of the hill is equal to the latitude of Ooty. The purpose of such design is to bring the telescope's axis and the earth's rotational axis in a parallel to establish an equatorial mount.
The current projects that are going on in the Radio Astronomy Center are timing observations of pulsars and interplanetary scintillations or IPS observations. The Ooty Radio Telescope is accessible from Ooty central bus station. The buses plying in the Ooty - Emerald route will pass through the Muthorai village. The Radio Astronomy Center or RAC is only a Kilometer away from Muthorai. The place has emerged as one of the prime Ooty Tourist Attractions.
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