NIT Srinagar Becomes First NIT in India with a Campus-Based Astronomical Observatory

23 September 2026National

NIT Srinagar has become the first National Institute of Technology in India to set up a dedicated campus-based astronomical observatory. The NIT Srinagar Observatory for Astronomy and Astrophysics (NSOAA) was inaugurated on 22 September 2026 by NIT Srinagar Director Prof. Anurag Misra along with University of Kashmir Registrar Prof. Nasir Iqbal. The facility is built around a 14-inch Celestron C14 EdgeHD Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a computerised equatorial mount, with planetary and cooled deep-sky cameras, LRGB filters and a 2.5x Barlow lens. It was developed with scientific guidance from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, and will support observational astronomy research, student training and public outreach.

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NIT Srinagar founded 1960, located at Hazratbal on the banks of Dal Lake | Indian Institute of Astrophysics HQ: Bengaluru, Karnataka | IIA operates the Indian Astronomical Observatory at Hanle, Ladakh

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