AstroSat, India's first multi-wavelength observatory

Abstract:
AstroSat is ISRO's first multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to astronomy
and capable of simultaneous observations from UV to high energy X-rays. AstroSat will be completing nine years of operation at the end of September 2024. With its highest collecting area in X-rays and best spatial resolution in UV, AstroSat data has resulted in many discoveries and interesting results. AstroSat is a real collaborative effort. This talk will summarize the AstroSat capabilities and some of the major science results from AstroSat.

Profile:
Dr. V Girish is Deputy Director at Science Program Office, responsible for astronomy programs of ISRO and managing AstroSat India's first mission dedicated for astronomy.He did his MSc in Physics from Bangalore Univ in 1998 & PhD in physics, on a type of variable stars called Rapidly Oscillating Ap Stars, from Indian Inst of Science in 2005. He joined Tata Inst of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai as a post-doctoral fellow & Worked on X-ray studies of Cataclysmic variables. He joined ISRO in 2006 and  initially worked on Roentgen-II satellite, a collaboration between India and Russia to study Sun at TIFR, Mumbai, moved back to ISRO and  initially worked on Chandrayaan and AstroSat. His main research interests are understanding the accretion processes in white dwarf binaries called cataclysmic variables using high resolution X-ray spectra. He has published around 52 papers in national/international refereed journals and around equal numbers in conference proceedings. He has written a book in Kannada "taaregala jeevanachakra", Life cycle of stars & frequently writes   popular articles in news papers.