A Review on Astronomy, Space Science and Technology Development in Thailand

1. “A Review on Astronomy, Space Science
and Technology Development in Thailand.
1
Boonrucksar Soonthornthum and Suparerk Aukkaravittayapun
NARIT, Ministry of Science and Technology,
THAILAND
Galaxy Forum China 2018 in Beijing on 7 Dec 2018.

2. National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand
Established since 1 January 2009
under the Ministry of Science and Technology
The 10thAnniversary on the Establishment of NARIT in 2019
2

3. National Member of the IAU (Updated 2018)
Country Year of
Membership
Individual
Members
Japan 1920 767
China, Nanjing 1935 734
Korea 1973 171
China, Taipei 1959 82
Thailand 2006 42
Indonesia 1964, 1979 20
Vietnam 2009 13
Malaysia 1988 10
Philippines 2001 6
Singapore - 4
Note: There is no yet the IAU individual member from other Southeast Asia
countries ie, Brunei, Myanmar, Lao and Cambodia.

4. Current Researchers
Utane Sawangwit Puji Irawati David Mkrtichian Christophe Buisset Phrudth Jaroenjittichai Ram Kesh Yadav Ronald Macatangay Siraprapa Sanpa-arsa
Supachai Awipan Apimook Watcharangkool Raman Solanki Nahathai Tanakul Kitiyanee Asanok Nibedita Kalita Zhou
Xiao
Vanisa Surapipith
Chutipong Suwannajak
Total = 18 Ph.D.
Thai : Foreigner = 10 : 8 Indonesia
Ukraine
Foreigner : France
India (3)
Philippines
China
Thanapol Chanapote

6. NARIT’s Headquarter “Princess Sirindhorn AstroPark”
@ 260 Moo 4, Donkaew, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai (22 acres)
Functions
• Main Administration Office of NARIT
• Advanced Research Laboratories: High Performance Computing,
Optics, Radio Frequencies
• Workshops: High Precision Machining, Mechatronics, Mirror
Coating
• Observatory and Planetarium for Public

7. Thai National Observatory,
2.4-m Thai National Telescope, TNT

8. Major Instruments
• ULTRASPEC
• 4k x 4k CCD Camera
• Medium Resolution
Spectrograph (MRES)

9. NARIT’s
Astronomy
Infrastructure

10. Thai Remote Telescope Network (TRTN)
Cerro Tololo
Inter-American
Observatory
(CTIO)
Republic of
Chile
Gao Mei Gu Observatory,
Lijiang, P.R. of China
Sierra Remote Observatory,
California, U.S.A.
Springbrook Observatory,
Queensland, Australia
GOTO Project at La Palma
Canary Island, Spain
Monash-Warrick Collaboration with
contribution from NARIT, Sheffield,
Leicester, Armagh Observatory

11. Self-reliance for Technology Development
Sputtering Mirror Coating facility under
cooperation between NARIT and SLRI

12. High Performance Computing Laboratory
ระบบคอมพิวเตอร์สมรรถนะสูงและศูนย์ข้อมูลดาราศาสตร์แห่งชาติ
กราฟแสดงการเปรียบเทียบความเร็วระหว่างระบบคอมพิวเตอร์สมรรถนะสูงของสถาบันฯ ชื่อว่า “ชาละ
วัน”
กับเครื่องคอมพิวเตอร์ระดับเซอร์เวอร์และระบบคอมพิวเตอร์ที่มีความเร็วสูงที่สุดในโลก

13. High Performance Computer cluster
Hardware (”Chalawan” Cluster)
 1 Management node (12 cores, 2.4 GHz Intel Xeon E5-26xx v3)
 19 compute nodes (rack + Blade servers)
• CPU 496 cores (@ 2.6GHz clock speed)
• Memory 2.2TB
• Infiniband FDR 56Gbps interconnect
• 2 Intel Xeon Phi Coprocessors (112 cores @ 1.2GHz)
 Storage: Lustre 90TB over IB FDR
 Rpeak= 22 TeraFLOPS

14. The “Chalawan” HPC Cluster
• Started in 2015 with 80 cores on 5 compute nodes (10GbE interconnect)
• System upgraded (2016), 496 cores + 2 Intel Xeon Phi & High-Throughput
Lustre parallel filesystem (56Gb IB interconnect) ): Rpeak= 22 TFLOPS
• Planned upgrade in 2019 (budget confirmed)
• +100 CPU cores +12 V100 GPUs (NVLink): Rpeak= 120 TFLOPS
• Available to Thai users outside NARIT via National e-Science Consortium

15. Chalawan has been/is being used for ...

16. Southeast Asia Regional Office of Astronomy for Development
(SEA ROAD) of the IAU
Thailand has been appointed by the IAU in 2012 to host the SEA ROAD

17. The International Training Centre in Astronomy (ITCA)
Under Auspices of the UNESCO, August 29, 2017
17

18. The 40-m Thai National Radio Telescope (TRTN)
40m Yebes, Spain
• `Updated’ version of IGN’s
40m Yebes Radio
Telescope
• 40m Paraboloid Antenna,
Cassegrain-Nasmyth optics
• 150 um (rms) total surface
accuracy (@45EL)
• 300 MHz - 115 GHz
• Slew: Az 3 deg/s, EL 1
deg/s
• Pointing: 2” (no wind),
6” (5 m/s wind)
• Tetrapod Head Unit (THU)

19. L-band
1.0-1.8 GHz K-band
18-26 GHz
BW 2pol x 2ghz

20. Yebes, 23 March 2017
Thailand-China Collaboration on
VLBI Geodesy under “One Belt’ One
Road” policy of Chinese’s government
NARIT’s 13m VGOS (VLBI
Global Observing System) antenna for
a very precise plate tectonic
measurement
13m VGOS Zelenchukskaya (RU) 13m VGOS GGAO (US)

21. NARIT’s Key Research Areas

22. Space Weather and Earth’s Climate
 Investigate how space weather affects the
upper atmosphere, as well as how the
upper atmosphere affects the lower
atmosphere and vice versa. It also aims
to study the effect of man on earth’s
climate.
Space weather: phenomena such as
cosmic rays, solar energetic particle
events and coronal mass ejections.
Upper atmosphere: auroras, ionospheric
scintillation and ground induced currents.
lower atmosphere: stratospheric,
tropospheric ozone, greenhouse gases,
aerosols and clouds.
The behavior and characteristics of these
phenomena are not isolated, but are
entwined and are in constant interaction
with one another through physics,
chemistry and even through biology.

23. Understanding Physics of the Universe
 Stellar astrophysics i.e. star formation, stars
at different evolutionary stages including
variable stars binary systems and the study
of the extremes of the Universe including
high energy astrophysics (i.e. cataclysmic
variables, supernovae, gamma ray burst,
compact objects)

24. Exoplanets and Astrobiology
 Exoplanet Characterization by Transits
 Exoplanet Detection Detection by Radial Velocity
 Confronting Galactic Structure via the Microlensing Technique
 Astrobiology research started from young biologists,
astronomers, and geologists from CMU and NARIT.
We are interested in extremophiles living in hot
spring - a probable ancient environment of other
planet. Siliceous sinter from several terrestrial hot
springs have been identified as analogues to nearly
pure opaline silica deposits, which were discovered at
Columbia Hills, Mars by the rover ‘Spirit’. On Earth,
mineralized microbes and silica conjointly build up
over time to produce microstromatolites, akin to
structures prevalent in early Earth
paleoenvironments.
Sample collecting at Pong Dueat Pa PaeLight curve of transiting exoplanet WASP-11b/HAT-P-10b
The 484-day radial velocity orbit of 13.3 Mj
exoplanet host M-giant star HD52030.
 Search for new exoplanets using
various observational
techniques, the study of the
physical properties of exoplanets
and the understanding of
planetary formation, the
exploration of the earth-like
exoplanets with habitable
zone and clues of lives outside
the Solar system.

25. Understanding the Origin of the Cosmos
The study of the origin, evolution and the
fate of the universe. The study of modern
cosmology and physics, the accelerated
expansion of the Universe, dark matter and
the formation and evolution of galaxies and
clusters of galaxies on the large-scale
structure.
Multi-messenger Observational Cosmology
 CMB as a probe for early universe: inflationary models
 LSS survey: BAO, RSD (in optical/infrared/radio)
 LSS-CMB cross-correlation: weak lensing, ISW & SZ
 Indirect Dark Matter signal: signal from DM annihilations
AGN & High-Energy Astrophysics phenomena
 Multi-wavelength AGN variability
 Quasar Reverberation mapping: SMBH mass determination
 Quasar and AGN evolution An artist impression of an AGN showing
its accretion disc and jet

26. Key ideas for research in the SE Asia
and Inter Regional Collaborations
We are working more on the study
of:
- Very distant objects
- Very faint objects
- Very cool objects
- Violent objects
Research Areas:
The early Universe, re-ionization-
re-combination regimes
Galaxies at high redshift
Violent Universe: Quasars, Blazars, AGNs
Dark Matter, Dark Energy
Stars, Compact Objects, Molecular Clouds
Stellar mergers
Exoplanets

27. Key ideas for research in the SE Asia
and Inter Regional Collaborations
We are heading forward to studying
1. Deep sky observations
2. Multi-wavelength observations
3. Long-term monitoring and continuous observations
Astronomical facilities, including human capacity buildings and
technology development within Thailand will not be enough for
our future development. The inter-regional collaborations with
the well-established astronomical institutes are needed.

28. Examples of Inter-regional
Collaborations

29. 29
Collaboration on Astroparticle Physics
MoU Signing Ceremony between NARIT and DESY
19 November 2015
GMT

30. Astroparticle Physics and Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)
NARIT offers Mirror Coating
Solution for CTA
High Energy Sources from Space eg: Gamma
Ray Bursts, Supernovae, Compact Binaries
etc.
Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA (120 Telescopes with
6,400 mirrors) in Cerro Paranal, Chile and Canary
Islands,Spain
Gamma ray produces
Cherenkov Light

31. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s visits to China
31
MoU Signing with Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC)
6 April 2016
Professor Huigen Yang, Director General of PRIC

32. Polar Research
From Waraporn Nuntiyakul, CMU
20 x 8 x 8 feet container
5.5
tons
Neutron Monitor
A Lattitude Survey Project

33. Credit: Liu et al.
(2018)
• KELT Follow-Up Network (KELT-FUN)
• Kilo-degree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) is a transiting exoplanet survey of bright host stars
• Searching for Proxima Centaruri b transit (with PRIC, China)
Exoplanet detection
Credit: Collins et al. (2018)
Exoplanet atmosphere
Credit: Spinger
• Light from the host star passes through the planetary atmosphere, some of the light is absorbed
by the atoms, molecules or grains present in the atmosphere
• Developed a detectability metric for exoplanet transmission spectroscopy targets (Morgan et
al., 2018)
Credit: NASA

34. NARIT-NAOC MoU April 5 2017
34
FAST Radio Telescope
Professor Jun Yan, Director General, NAOC

35. Yebes, 23 March 2017
NARIT-MPIfR MoU Signing for Radio Astronomy
17 April 2018

36. 36
Participating in International VLBI networks

39. National Space Strategy VS TSC Milestone
“Accelerating towards space innovative nation”
• National Space Act
• International collaboration
• Satellite Policy
• Responding Agency
• Management mechanism
• Create Consortium
• Capacity building
• Space Agency
• Infrastructure investment
• Space Sci-Tech institute
• RDI
• Space industries
• Space utilization for
sustainability
• Satellite R&D
• Capacity building
• Export space innovation
• Involve in space
exploration and research
• Build our own satellite
• Thailand : Space HUB of ASEAN
- AIT (Assembly, Integration and Test)
- RDI (R&D and Innovation)
- Regional Space GI Excellent Center
Space
Innovation
ASEAN
Space Hub
Establishment
Promotion &
Development
Acceleration
Program
First AIT
Infrastructure
First Space System
manufacturing in Thailand
First THAI
small satellite

42. Coming soon…@GISTDA

43. High Precision
Computing
Optical laboratory activities overview
Spectroscopy
Telescope design
High resolution/
Dynamic systems
High
Precision
Machining
40 m Radio Telescope
• Up to 115 GHz
• Possible for
primary focus
receiver and PAF
• 22, 43, 86 GHz
simultaneous
receiver
• Large receiver
chamber

45. Technology Readiness Level
Satellite
Payload Bus
Power
Subsystem
Thermal
Control
Command and
Data Handling
Structure,
Materials and
Mechanism
Control,
Guidance and
Navigation
Communication
Propulsio
n
Focal Plane
Array
Mechanics
and Optics
Payload Data
Processing
very high
technology is ready
never done

46. Mission for low earth orbit satellite
(400-1,000 km alt.)
current need
expect to build in Thailand 0-5 yrs
expect to build in Thailand 6-10 yrs
COMMUNICATION
SPACE EARTH
lOT Data Relay
Optical
Microwave
Thermal Visible Hyperspectral
Space Weather
Space Situational
Awareness
Sounding Rocket
Active Passive
Receiver Probes
Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR)
Space Exploration
SpaceExperiment
Technology
Demonstration
Space Telescope
THEOS-1
THEOS-2 (VHR)
THEOS-2 (S)TSC-1TSC-2
TSC-1
LESASAT-THEOS(S)
NSE
TSC-3
THEOS-2 (S)
AIS/ ADS-B

47. Thank You