Overview And Present Status Of The 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT)
Abstract
The International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is an inexpensive optical instrument with a diameter of 4 metres, entirely dedicated to astronomical surveys. Its scientific programmes include the detection and study of transients, variable objects, asteroids, comets, low surface brightness galaxies, space debris, etc. The telescope achieved its first light on 29 April 2022 and was officially inaugurated on 21 March 2023. It has been operating regularly since October 2023 and continuously observes the sky passing through the zenith using the SDSS g′, r′, and i′ filters in a narrow band of the sky (22.3′) centred around the equatorial declination of +29°21′41′ ′. Here we report on the astrometric and photometric performance of the ILMT and summarise the main results obtained since the BINA3 workshop. A great way to raise public awareness is to build a scale model of a liquid mirror telescope. General guidelines for doing so are provided.
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BibTeX
@misc{surdej2026overview,
title = {{Overview And Present Status Of The 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT)}},
author = {Jean Surdej and Bhavya Ailawadhi and Talat Akhunov and Monalisa Dubey and Naveen Dukiya and Sara Filali and Paul Hickson and Priyanshi Kumari and Gokul Singh Mehra and Kuntal Misra and Vibhore Negi and Anna Pospieszalska-Surdej and Kumar Pranshu and Sarvesh Yadav},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.36707},
eprint = {2610.36707},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36707},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Overview And Present Status Of The 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT)
AU - Jean Surdej
AU - Bhavya Ailawadhi
AU - Talat Akhunov
AU - Monalisa Dubey
AU - Naveen Dukiya
AU - Sara Filali
AU - Paul Hickson
AU - Priyanshi Kumari
AU - Gokul Singh Mehra
AU - Kuntal Misra
AU - Vibhore Negi
AU - Anna Pospieszalska-Surdej
AU - Kumar Pranshu
AU - Sarvesh Yadav
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.36707
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.36707
AB - The International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) is an inexpensive optical instrument with a diameter of 4 metres, entirely dedicated to astronomical surveys. Its scientific programmes include the detection and study of transients, variable objects, asteroids, comets, low surface brightness galaxies, space debris, etc. The telescope achieved its first light on 29 April 2022 and was officially inaugurated on 21 March 2023. It has been operating regularly since October 2023 and continuously observes the sky passing through the zenith using the SDSS g^′, r^′, and i^′ filters in a narrow band of the sky (22.3^′) centred around the equatorial declination of +29°21^′41^′ ′. Here we report on the astrometric and photometric performance of the ILMT and summarise the main results obtained since the BINA3 workshop. A great way to raise public awareness is to build a scale model of a liquid mirror telescope. General guidelines for doing so are provided.
ER -