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Context:

• The Ministry of Railways gave 'in-principle' approval to the Pune-Nashik high-speed rail project, being executed by Maharail.
• The proposed Rs 16,000-crore Pune-Nashik high-speed rail project could jeopardise the operations of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the world's largest radio telescope located near Pune according to experts.

GMRT:

• About:The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths. It is one of the largest and most sensitive low-frequency radio observatories in the world.
• Location:It is located about 80 km north of Pune at Khodad.
• Genesis: The GMRT was conceptualised in the late 1980s, built and made operational during the 1990s, and was opened for use by the global astronomy community in 2002.
• Aim:To determine the epoch of galaxy formation in the universe.
• Usage: Astronomers from all over the world regularly use this telescope to observe many different astronomical objects such as HII regions, galaxies, pulsars, supernovae, and Sun and solar winds.
• Contribution: GMRT pioneered new techniques in antenna design, receiver systems, and signal transport over optical fibre. GMRT has produced important discoveries in domains such as pulsars, supernovae, galaxies, quasars, and cosmology, greatly enhancing our understanding of the Universe.
• Recent Finding: In February 2020, it helped in the observation of the biggest explosion in the history of the universe, the Ophiuchus Supercluster explosion.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/gmrt-scientists-worried-after-ministrys-approval-for-pune-nashik-high-speed-rail-8433055/

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