Telescopes

Science

These Linked Telescopes Are The Voltron Of Astronomy

5:30AM Yesterday | Andrew Tarantola

How do you create the world’s largest virtual optical telescope and the most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory? Teamwork. The Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory combines the visual prowess of four huge telescopes — for the first time ever — to mimic a 130m wide mirror. More »

Science

Stanford Building World’s Biggest Digital Camera

3:30AM November 11, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

So just how much can a digital camera the size of a Hyundai see? Hopefully, if you’re the Stanford team building it, enough to answer some fundamental questions about our galaxy. More »

Science

The 1.4-Gigapixel Camera Standing Between Us And Armageddon

1:30AM July 26, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

First step in preventing Armageddon: Spot the asteroid before it obliterates all life on earth. The PS1 Telescope sits atop a Hawaiian mountain with a 1.4-gigabit digital camera to ensure we get the Ben Affleck-approved ending, not Deep Impact. More »

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The 1000km Wide Telescope That’ll Look Back At The Beginning Of Time

1:30AM June 28, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

Until very recently, man has viewed the skies only within the visible spectrum. When LOFAR, the world’s largest telescope, looks to the heavens, it sees the depths of the universe in radio. More »

Science

Help Search For ET Intelligence By Funding Allen Telescope Array

12:20PM June 22, 2011 | Annalee Newitz

In April, we were saddened to find out that SETI’s Allen Telescope Array (ATA) had lost its funding and would have to shut down the world’s biggest, longest-running experiment in searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. More »

Science

World’s Largest Radio Telescope Being Built In China

9:20PM June 16, 2011 | Kat Hannaford

I’ve just reread the entire plot of Goldeneye thanks to China’s Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), and I’m now concerned some serious shit might go on down here once it’s completed in 2016. More »

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NBN To Help Our Bid For The SKA Telescope

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4:30PM June 9, 2011 | Nick Broughall

Remember last month when we told you that Australia was in the running for the world’s largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array or SKA? Claire Connolly over at News is reporting that the NBN is a huge boost to the chances of us winning that tender next February. More »

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How The Webb Telescope’s Beryllium Mirrors Reflect Reality On Earth

7:47AM May 26, 2011 | Jesus Diaz

“Mirrors, mirrors on the Webb, who in the land is fairest of all?” project scientist Mark Clampin asked six of the mirrors to be built on the Webb Space Telescope. More »

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Gran Telescopio Canarias Could Spot A Car’s Headlights In Australia. From Spain.

1:30AM May 24, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

Light degrades the second it hits our atmosphere, making terrestrial astronomy and the search for dim or distant stars tricky. The Gran Telescopio Canarias observatory is the world’s largest single-aperture optical telescope, and it’s got some ingenious ways to compensate. More »

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Amateur Astronomer’s View Of Space Shuttle Cosying Up To ISS

6:40AM March 2, 2011 | Kyle VanHemert

Guiding his 9-inch telescope by hand, amateur astronomer Rob Bullen snapped this extraordinary shot of the Space Shuttle Discovery approaching the International Space Station over Gloucestershie, England, last Saturday. Here’s what he had to say: More »