Old News From The Royal Observatory
The most recent of the old news items are listed on this page.
Older news is available from the link at the bottom of the page: Older News Link
Herschel
digs up the dirt on distant galaxies using cosmic zoom lenses
5 November 2010
A UK-led team using the world's largest space telescope, ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, has discovered a new way of locating a natural phenomenon that acts like a zoom lens, allowing astronomers to peer at galaxies in the distant and early Universe. The magnification created by this phenomenon allows astronomers to see galaxies otherwise hidden from us, providing key insights into how galaxies have changed over the history of the cosmos.
Professor Rob Ivison of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, part of the team that created the images, said "This relatively simple technique promises to unlock the secrets of how galaxies like our Milky Way formed and evolved. Not only does the lensing allow us to find them very efficiently, but it helps us peer within them to figure out how the individual pieces of the jigsaw came together, back in the mists of time".
Full text of the press release can be found on the UK Space Agency website.
Conference
highlights the benefits of astronomy research on wider society
13 October 2010
A technology developed to establish the age of galaxies which is now being used to compare medical scans and a telescope project that has seen UK companies win £9 million in contracts are being highlighted at a conference this week as examples of how astronomy can benefit society.
Full text of the press release.
ROE
Workshop 2010 - Applications of Astronomy - Registration Now Open
13-15 October 2010
Astronomy has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe. The cutting-edge tools and techniques developed by astronomers to peer into the furthest reaches of the cosmos are now finding applications outside astronomy, ranging from devices for medical imaging through to sensors for security and defence. Astronomy technology is helping to address real-world problems here on earth.
This conference will give an overview of technologies and techniques developed in astronomy, highlight the solutions they offer for solving commercially relevant issues, and provide information and guidance on how academics and industry can collaborate to develop future applications.
ROE staff
on-loan for 'reading' at Edinburgh's Fringe Festival
13 August 2010
A ‘Human Book’ about ‘Dark Skies and Big Telescopes’ was available for loan at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival this week (Wednesday 11th August), in the form of Dan Hillier, the manager of the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh Visitor Centre. Dan from the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) was part of the ‘Future Editions’ library organised which offered 30 specialists on-loan across the city for festival-goers to chat with for ten minute spells.
Further details about this story.
Spectacular
new ‘Tarantula’ image captured by VISTA
11 August 2010
Astronomers have captured a spectacular new image in a region of our
neighbouring galaxy known to have an abnormally high rate of star formation
that reveals yet more details about its history and development. The
picture, taken with the UK-designed and built VISTA telescope, is of
the Tarantula Nebula, a region in the Large Magellanic Cloud which
contains many stars that can be difficult to detect because they are
enshrouded in the gas and dust clouds from which they formed. Astronomers
were able to take the image by using ESO’s VISTA (Visible and
Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy ) telescope because it can
pick up near infra-red light, which we cannot see ourselves, that has
a longer wavelength of visible light, enabling it to penetrate much
of the dust that would normally obscure our view.
Full text of the Press Release.
Blackford
Secures Investment
5th August 2010
A new software company founded by astronomy experts will embark on an ambitious programme of business development at home and in the USA after securing a six-figure investment sum.
Blackford Analysis opens for business today as Scotland’s newest University spin-out company after attracting development cash from a range of investors.
Full text of the Press Release.
NASA
award for telescope innovation to Edinburgh Scientist
15th July 2010
The late Dr Timothy Hawarden, who was based for many years at the ’STFC's UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC), has been awarded a NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal for his pioneering work on innovative cooling techniques that make possible future infrared space telescopes, including the one that will follow the Hubble Space Telescope. The awards were presented at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, home of the Hubble, on 16 June 2010. Nobel laureate, Dr, John Mather, an American astronomer who was an early convert to Tim’s concept, accepted it on Tim’s behalf.
The medals accompanying the award were presented to Tim’s widow, Frances today (15 July 2010) at a brief ceremony held at the UK ATC (formerly the Royal Observatory Edinburgh or ROE) during a meeting of the Science Working Group for the James Webb Space Telescope. At the ceremony Robert Smith, an historian charged with writing a comprehensive history of this huge NASA/ESA mission, gave an introduction to the significance of Tim’s work to an audience of NASA and ESA scientists together with some of Tim’s colleagues at the UK ATC.
Full text of the Press Release.
ROE
Workshop 2010 - Applications of Astronomy
13-15 October 2010
Astronomy has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe. The cutting-edge tools and techniques developed by astronomers to peer into the furthest reaches of the cosmos are now finding applications outside astronomy, ranging from devices for medical imaging through to sensors for security and defence. Astronomy technology is helping to address real-world problems here on earth.
This conference will give an overview of technologies and techniques developed in astronomy, highlight the solutions they offer for solving commercially relevant issues, and provide information and guidance on how academics and industry can collaborate to develop future applications.
Further details are available from the ROE Workshop 2010 web site.
Duel International Conference "10 years of Cosmic Shear"
18th - 23rd July 2010
2010 marks the tenth anniversary of the detection of Cosmic Shear. To celebrate this, and to showcase the latest results from recent surveys as well as setting the agenda for Gravitational Lensing over the next 10 years, we are holding an international conference on Gravitational Lensing in Edinburgh.
The meeting is sponsored by the DUEL (Dark Universe with Extragalactic Lensing) European Community Research Training Network (a FP6 Marie Curie Action), and the University of Edinburgh.
Full details available on the Duel International Conference website
All
eyes on giant telescope project
25 June 2010
An exhibition including two innovative videos is showcasing inspirational
plans to build the largest optical telescope in the world – the European
Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT).
The giant telescope is in an advanced stage of design by astronomers and industry across Europe, led by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The E-ELT, with a main mirror 42 metres in diameter, is expected to revolutionise our understanding of the Universe and its origins.
Full text of press release
IfA Research Fellow shortlisted For Women In Science Award
23 June 2010
Dr Catherine Heymans, an Advanced Fellow of the Institute for Astronomy, has been named as one of the eight final candidates for the 2010 L’Oréal UNESCO ‘For Women In Science’ Fellowships.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Royal Institution in London on 30 June 2010. Four outstanding female scientists will be awarded fellowships of £15,000 each.
Full text of the web article.
UK scientists focus on revealing hidden mysteries of the Universe
17 June 2010
Secrets of the Universe are to be revealed as a new telescope equipped with the
world's most powerful digital camera begins its observations of the night sky.
The Pan-STARRS sky survey telescope - known as PS1 - will enable scientists to
better understand the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, the material
that is thought to account for much of the mass of the universe but has never
been proven to exist.
Astronomers from the Universities of Durham, Edinburgh and Queen's University
Belfast together with researchers from around the world are using the telescope
to scan the skies from dusk to dawn each night.
Full text of the Press Release.
VISTA Views the Sculptor Galaxy
16 June 2010
A spectacular new image of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253) has been taken with the ESO VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile as part of one of its first major observational campaigns. By observing in infrared light VISTA’s view is less affected by dust and reveals a myriad of cooler stars as well as a prominent bar of stars across the central region. The VISTA image provides much new information on the history and development of the galaxy.
Full text of the ESO Press Release.
Largest radio telescope gets royal seal of approval
16 June 2010
The world's largest radio telescope has been officially launched at a special
ceremony in The Netherlands attended by astronomers from the UK and many other
countries. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands formally opened LOFAR, which stands
for Low Frequency Array, on Saturday 12 June. Representatives from consortia
in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom then officially
signed the memorandum that kicks off their scientific collaboration.
Full text of the Press Release.
Herschel
reveals bright galaxies like to stick together
26 May 2010
Astronomers using the European Space Agency's Herschel telescope have discovered that the brightest galaxies tend to be in the busiest parts of the Universe. This crucial piece of information will enable theorists to fix up their theories of galaxy formation.
Full text of the Press Release.
Posthumous award from NASA
12 May 2010
The late Dr Timothy Hawarden, a long serving STFC staff member, has been awarded a NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal for his pioneering work on passive/radiative cooling of infrared space telescopes. The awards were presented at NASA Headquarters yesterday (11 May 2010); Harley Thronson, who worked with Tim on these innovative mission concepts, received the award on Tim's behalf.
Every year the National Aeronautics and Space Administration awards a small number of medals to recognise those individuals and groups who have made important contributions to the agency's priority mission.
The Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal (ETAM) is awarded to individuals for technology contributions achieved in one of the following areas: early technology development significantly contributing to NASA's mission; exemplary collaborative effort in achieving significant technology transfer; or, exceptional utilisation of a NASA-developed technology resulting in a significant commercial application. These are the highest awards given by NASA.
Tim has been awarded a 2010 NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal. The citation reads, "For the breakthrough concepts that made possible the James Webb Space Telescope and its successors." Tim was informed last autumn that he had been nominated for this award; it is very sad that he did not live long enough to collect it in person.
Harley will give the medal to Tim's wife, Frances, in the summer.
Herschel
reveals stellar surprises and galaxies galore
6 May 2010
The first scientific results from ESA's Herschel infrared space observatory are revealing previously unseen star formation. New images show thousands of distant galaxies furiously building stars, and beautiful star-forming clouds draped across the Milky Way. One picture even catches an ‘impossible’ star in the act of formation.
Presented on 6th May during a major scientific symposium held at the European Space Agency (ESA), the results challenge old ideas of star birth, and open new roads for future research.
Full text of the Press Release.
E-ELT Site Chosen
26 April 2010
On 26 April 2010, the ESO Council selected Cerro Armazones as the baseline site for the planned 42-metre European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). Cerro Armazones is a mountain at an altitude of 3060 metres in the central part of Chile’s Atacama Desert, some 130 kilometres south of the town of Antofagasta and about 20 kilometres from Cerro Paranal, home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
Full text of the ESO Press Release.
Hubble's successor one step closer to completion
18 March 2010
A working replica of MIRI - the pioneering camera and spectrometer
for the James Webb Space Telescope - has just been shipped (16 March)
from the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, bringing the Webb telescope
one small step closer to embarking on its journey into space where it
will produce the sharpest images yet of the farthest depths of the cosmos.
Full text of the Press Release
Royal
Observatory Telescope acquired by the National Museum of Scotland
4 March 2010
A 1930 Schmidt Telescope was craned out of the West Tower Dome of the
Royal Observatory Edinburgh this week, and will form the centrepiece
of the new Earth and Space gallery at the Royal Museum on Chambers Street
when it reopens in 2011 after extensive refurbishment. It was only
possible to remove the telescope, which has not been used since the
1970s, due to the refurbishment to the copper of the domes which is
currently under way. The telescope, which weighed more than 2.6 tonnes,
could only be removed through the roof, so this was a unique opportunity
for
the
National
Museum to
acquire
this piece of Scottish astronomical heritage.
Images of the telescope being removed...
New Image Gallery available on ROE website
A new Image Gallery showcasing some of the best images from the Royal Observatory and collaborators has been launched on the ROE website. The collection brings together photographs of telescopes and observatories and instruments, astronomical images, artists' impressions and historical material from the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, the Institute for Astronomy and the ROE Visitor Centre.
Colin
Cunningham honoured as Fellow of SPIE
11 February 2010
Colin Cunningham has been made a Fellow of the Society by SPIE, the international
society for optics and photonics. Fellows are Members of distinction
who have made significant scientific and
technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics,
photonics, and imaging. They are honoured for their technical achievement,
for their service to the general optics community, and to SPIE in particular.
Full text of the SPIE press release.
‘Out of this World’ Honour for Australian Astronomer
Professor Fred Watson, Astronomer-in-Charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory, and one of Australia’s best-known science communicators, has been honoured for his services to astronomy. On Australia Day, January 26, Fred was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia.
Fred has been Astronomer-in-Charge at the AAO since 1995, having previously worked at the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Acknowledged in professional circles as one of the pioneers of fibre optics in astronomy, Fred is currently Project Manager for the international RAVE survey of a million stars. He holds adjunct professorships in the University of Southern Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and James Cook University.
Full text of the Anglo-Australian Observatory press release.
Orion in a new light - ESO's VISTA telescope exposes high-speed antics of young stars
10 February 2010
The Orion Nebula reveals many of its hidden secrets
in a dramatic image taken by the new UK-designed VISTA telescope. The
survey
telescope's
huge field of view can show the full splendour of the whole nebula and
VISTA's infrared vision also allows it to peer deeply into dusty regions
that are normally hidden and expose the curious behaviour of the very
active young stars buried there.
Full text of the press release.
Sad Announcement
It is with the greatest of sadness that we mourn the death of Timothy Garn, killed in a tragic accident whilst descending from Ben Lui on Sunday 17th January 2010.
Tim was a Postdoctoral Researcher in Extragalactic Astrophysics. Born on 7th September 1982, he joined the Institute for Astronomy in September 2008, following an outstanding performance as an undergraduate and postgraduate at the University of Cambridge. He was a very talented young astrophysicist whose research career was blossoming quickly, and whose future was extremely bright. An enthusiastic and very likeable young man, Tim lived life to the full and enriched the lives of those around him. He will be sorely missed, as a colleague and a friend. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.