Revolutionary new camera reveals the dark side of the Universe

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new camera that will revolutionise the field of submillimetre astronomy has been unveiled on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii SCUBA-2 is far more sensitive and powerful than previous instruments ...

Ten years of Very Large Telescope adaptive optics

(PhysOrg.com) -- Ten years ago today, NACO became operational: the first adaptive optics system of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Adaptive Optics allows astronomers to remove the stars' twinkling – disturbances due ...

Assembly stand completed for James Webb Telescope flight optics

(PhysOrg.com) -- The cleanroom at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. has received a giant structural steel frame that will be used to assemble the mirrors and instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Hinode's first light... and five more years

(PhysOrg.com) -- On October 28, 2006, the Hinode solar mission was at last ready. The spacecraft launched on September 22, but such missions require a handful of diagnostics before the instruments can be turned on and collect ...

Space Image: When galaxies collide

(PhysOrg.com) -- This interacting pair of galaxies is included in Arp's catalog of peculiar galaxies as number 148. Arp 148 is the staggering aftermath of an encounter between two galaxies, resulting in a ring-shaped galaxy ...

James Webb telescope completes mirror-coating milestone

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has reached a major milestone in its development. The mirrors that will fly aboard the telescope have completed the coating process at Quantum Coating Inc. in Moorestown, ...

A cosmic exclamation point

(PhysOrg.com) -- VV 340, also known as Arp 302, provides a textbook example of colliding galaxies seen in the early stages of their interaction. The edge-on galaxy near the top of the image is VV 340 North and the face-on ...

The hidden galaxy in the zone of avoidance

There are some places astronomers dare not tread. One of the prime places is beyond the disk of our own galaxy where the numerous stars and clouds of dust along the line of sight make observations messy to say the least. ...

A cosmic inkblot test

(PhysOrg.com) -- If this were an inkblot test, you might see a bow tie or a butterfly depending on your personality. An astronomer would likely see the remains of a dying star scattered about space -- precisely what this ...

Being 'secondary' is important for a Webb Telescope mirror

(PhysOrg.com) -- "Secondary" may not sound as important as "primary" but when it comes to the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope a secondary mirror plays a critical role in ensuring the telescope gathers information ...

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