telescopes
Science

Laser-Zapping Telescopes Have Never Looked So Amazing

We’ve showed you the Paranal Observatory’s laser-guided telescopes before, but never in gorgeous HD motion, replete with clear stars and deftly swivelling machinery. This is definitely one you’re going to want to watch fullscreen.

February 10, 2012
Science

These Linked Telescopes Are The Voltron Of Astronomy

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.

November 11, 2011
Cameras

Stanford Building World’s Biggest Digital Camera

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.

July 26, 2011
Cameras

The 1.4-Gigapixel Camera Standing Between Us And Armageddon

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.

June 28, 2011
Science

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

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.

June 22, 2011
Science

Help Search For ET Intelligence By Funding Allen Telescope Array

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.

June 16, 2011
Science

World’s Largest Radio Telescope Being Built In China

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.

June 9, 2011
Science

NBN To Help Our Bid For The SKA Telescope

Gizmodo AU

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.

May 26, 2011
Science

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

“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.

May 24, 2011
Science

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

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.

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