Vainu Bappu Observatory / Kavalur Observatory, Near Yelagiri Hills

Travel for 77 km from Vellore to reach The Vainu Bappu Observatory. Indian Institute of Astrophysics is all incharge of this astronomical observatory. The Javadi hills at Kavalur holds this astonishing place. If you are a science student or have a keen interest in science then this place is a heaven for you. The location of the observatory is too mesmerizing. It stands at the height of 725m from the sea level. The 100 acres of vast forest land surrounds it. The things of interest in the observatory are-

1. The optical telescopes-  2.3m Vainu Bappu telescope (currently India’s largest optical telescope), 1.3-meter J.C Bhattacharya telescope, 1m Carl Zeiss Telescope and many more.
2. A Fabry-Perot Interferometer – for studying airglow emissions from the Earth’s thermosphere.

The history of the origin of this observatory is long. Firstly, William Petrie set a private observatory at his garden house at Egmore in 1786, which became famous as Madras Observatory. It was later in 1899, moved to Kodaikanal and came to be known as Kodaikanal Observatory. Again in 1960, M.K. Vainu Bappu, the then director of Kodaikanal Observatory, selected more suitable place at Kavalur in the Javadu Hills and establishes the observatory there. It was named as Kavalur Observatory then. Later, it was changed to Indian Institute of Astrophysics. One can visit the place to spot the celestial bodies and have a closer glimpse of the night sky.