Indian Institute of Astrophysics

1. Indian Institute of Astrophysics a premier Institute for Research & Development in Astronomy & Astrophysics New facilities at IAO-Hanle: HAGAR & MACE High altitude Gamma Ray observatory is established at the base of Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle-Ladakh in 2008 at an altitude of 14000 ft. HAGAR , an array of 7 telescopes, each with 7 mirrors of 90cm diameter, and total light gathering area of 31 sq-m was installed by IIA in collaboration with TIFR, Mumbai. A 21-m diameter Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) is scheduled  to be set up in 2013 by BARC, Mumbai. The high-energy gamma ray region (10-250 GeV), in between the satellite experiments and traditional Atmospheric Cerenkov experiments, has not yet been explored where many astrophysical sources emit radiation due to acceleration of particles to relativistic energies. The detection technique employs Cerenkov photons produced in the atmosphere by the particle shower generated by energetic gamma-ray photons. High altitude experiments are closer to the source of Cerenkov photons and help in reducing the energy threshold of detection for a given size of telescope.