Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences 3.33

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences is a leading research institute in Nainital, Uttarakhand which specializes in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences. An autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, the institute is situated at Manora Peak, about 9 km from Nainital, a popular hill station.The astronomical observatory is open to the public during working days on afternoons. For night viewing however, three - four days on moonlight nights are fixed and prior permission is needed.HistoryThe institute was started on 20 April 1954 under the supervision of Dr.A.N.Singh as Uttar Pradesh State Observatory (UPSO) in the premises of the Govt. Sanskrit College, presently known as Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. With the creation of the State of Uttarakhand on 9 Nov 2000, and because of its geographical location within the boundaries of Uttarakhand, UPSO came under the administrative control of the new government and was re-christened as the State Observatory (SO). Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) was its new name when it came under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India as an autonomous body on 22 March 2004.