Indian achievement in astronomy, astrophysics, relativity and cosmology

Abstract

The chapter begins with describing the pioneering work of Meghnad Saha on stellar atmospheres, followed by the work in general relativity and cosmology in two distinct schools: N. R. Sen in Calcutta and V. V. Narlikar in Banaras. P. C. Vaidya's work (Banaras) on radiating stars is very much used today, as is B. Dart's (Calcutta) work on gravitational collapse. The Raychaudhuri equation in relativistic cosmology set the trend for future work on space-time singularities in general relativity. India has been one of the major places where alternatives (J. V. Narlikar) to the big bang cosmology have flourished. The Madras Observatory made its mark in optical observations, but post-independence India saw new facilities being created at Nainital, Kodaikanal, Kavalur, Udaipur, Gurushikhar, Han Le and Giravali. Space astronomies took off with balloons, rockets and satellites. The chapter ends with a brief critique of what have been the strengths of Indian contributions to astronomy and astrophysics, and their possible weaknesses.