ECIL completes field trials of giant Gamma-ray telescope

A giant Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Gamma-ray telescope, being developed and manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), has successfully undergone all the field trials, its manufacturer said here today.
The telescope has been developed for Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and was ready to be dispatched to Hanle site in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
"When installed and fully operational by early 2016, this MACE telescope (which weighs about 180 tons) will be the second largest Gamma-ray telescope in the world. It will help the scientific community of the country to enhance their understanding in the fields of Astrophysics, Fundamental Physics, Particle acceleration mechanisms etc," according to an ECIL statement.

Similar telescopes, setup in Namibia, Europe and the US, have been developed by collaborative efforts of multiple institutions, whereas the MACE telescope has been designed and developed from concept stage to assembly stage by ECIL with technology support from BARC, it said.
The MACE telescope flagging-off ceremony will be held on June 28 by Dr R K Sinha, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy & Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, at Antenna Systems Group, ECIL.
According to the ECIL, Very High Energy (VHE) gamma rays in the telescope offer a unique insight into some of the most extreme phenomena of universe.
The largest telescope of the same class is the 28 metre diameter HESS telescope, operating in Namibia.