Modern astronomy started in India when an astronomical observatory was founded in Madras as early as 1786 by the East India Company and to which the Indian Institute of Astrophysics traces its origin. There are, however, records of astronomical observations taken through a telescope from Pondicherry that elucidate the double-star nature of Alpha-Centauri as early as in 1689. Since then many more research centers in astronomy have been established. Today, institutions like the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (Bangalore), the Raman Research Institute (Bangalore), the Center of Advanced Study in Astronomy (Hyderabad), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Bombay), and the Physical Research Laboratory (Ahmedabad) are engaged in pioneering work in theoretical and observational branches of astronomy and astrophysics.