Kodaikanal Solar Observatory

• The 125th anniversary of the iconic Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO) was celebrated on 1 April 2024 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), to remember the history of KSO, felicitate its scientists, and honour its legacy was a milestone for astronomy in India.
• The KSO houses a digital repository of 1.2 lakh digitised solar images and thousands of other images of the Sun recorded every day since the start of the 20th century.

ABOUT KODAIKANAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY:

• It is a solar observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
• The concept of an Indian solar observatory began in the late 19th century, and the government approved the establishment of the Solar Physics Observatory in Kodaikanal in August 1893.
• Kodaikanal in the Palani hills of Tamil Nadu was picked for the observatory because of its good atmospheric conditions, based on surveys by Charles Michie Smith (a Professor of Physics at the Madras Christian College).
• Lord Wenlock, the Governor of Madras at the time, laid the foundation stone for KoSO in 1895.
• Systematic observations at KoSO commenced on March 14, 1901.
• Initially, KoSO had telescopes to study sunspots, prominences, and solar radiation. Now, it has advanced instruments like the H-alpha telescope and the White Light Active Region Monitor (WARM) for high solar imaging.