New, massive telescope

Hopefully, if Obama and his anti-TRUE science goons decide to cut the
budget, other countries might step up. I hope. Remember, you could
build a HUNDRED of these for what the ISS has cost.

BBC:

24 July 2011 Last updated at 19:36 ET
Why Chile is an astronomer's paradise
Gideon Long By Gideon Long BBC News, Paranal Observatory, Chile

With its crystal clear skies and bone dry air, the Atacama Desert in
northern Chile has long drawn astronomers. Some of the most powerful
telescopes in the world are housed here.

But now, work is about to begin on a telescope that will dwarf them
all - not a VLT (Very Large Telescope) but an ELT (Extremely Large
Telescope).

It will be built 2,600m (8.530ft) up in the Andes on a site
overlooking the Paranal observatory, and when it is finished in 10
years' time it will be the most powerful optical instrument in the
world.

The telescope will be the size of a football stadium, cost around
$1.5bn (£930m) and weigh over 5,000 tonnes.

It will be built to withstand major earthquakes, a serious
consideration in Chile.
Jigsaw puzzle

Astronomers say the images it produces will be 15 times sharper than
those sent to earth by the Hubble space telescope, and might
eventually help us find signs of life on other planets.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO), which operates Paranal, says
the telescope, and others like it, "may eventually revolutionise our
perception of the universe as much as Galileo's telescope did".

The telescope's main mirror will be 42m wide. That is five times
bigger than the mirrors on the existing telescopes at Paranal, which
are already among the biggest in the world.

Because it is impossible to make such a large, curved, high-precision
mirror, engineers in Europe will make nearly 1,000 small hexagonal
mirrors which will be shipped to Chile and fitted together like pieces
in a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Henri Boffin, a senior astronomer at Paranal, says the new telescope
should help scientists address questions raised by the existing
instruments at the observatory.

"What we have been able to do so far is raise a set of questions," Mr
Boffin said. "Like, for example, we have discovered that the expansion
of the universe is accelerating, but we have no clue why.

"There's a kind of dark energy we think is there, but we have no clue
at all what it is. Similarly, we know that the universe is made in
part of dark matter, but we have absolutely no clue what it is, and it
makes up more than 25% of the universe.

"The new telescope will hopefully help us answer these questions."

The construction of the telescope is not the only major astronomical
project in Chile.

Just up the road from Paranal, engineers are completing the
construction of ALMA, the world's biggest network of radio telescopes.

It will consist of more than 60 giant radio dishes, assembled on the
Chajnantor plateau at a dizzying altitude of 5,000m.

Tim de Zeeuw, the head of ESO, says ALMA, which is scheduled to begin
operations later this year, promises to be "as transformational for
science as the Hubble space telescope".
Desert dry

These two projects are cementing Chile's reputation as an astronomer's
paradise. By some calculations, by 2025 the country will be home to
more than half the image-capturing capacity in the world.

Much of the reason for that lies in the desert skies, which are among
the clearest on earth. In some parts of the Atacama Desert, rainfall
has never been recorded.

Altitude is also important, particularly for ALMA. Radio telescopes
pick up wavelengths from outer space, but the signals are often
distorted by water vapor in the earth's atmosphere.

By building at altitude, in dry air, engineers can get above some of
that moisture.

But there are other reasons why astronomers are flocking to Chile.

Being in the southern hemisphere, its observatories are not in direct
competition with those in the United States and Europe, which gaze out
at different skies.

"If you want to do modern astronomy and you want to do it in the
southern hemisphere, you have to do it in Chile," Mr Boffin says.

Politics and infrastructure are also factors. Chile has emerged as one
of the most stable, prosperous countries in the region since its
return to democracy in 1990. That stability is essential for long-term
investment projects like these.

The existing telescopes at Paranal have already helped scientists make
some remarkable discoveries.

For example, they captured the first ever images of a planet outside
our own solar system, and helped astronomers work out the age of the
oldest known star in the Milky Way - it is 13.2bn years old.

One of the observatory's greatest feats was proving that a huge black
hole lies at the centre of the Milky Way.

Scientists calculate that this mysterious void has a mass three
million times larger than the Sun.

The astronomers at Paranal are proud of these achievements but say
they now want more.

And they say their giant new telescope will help them achieve it,
taking our understanding of the universe to the next level.

On Jul 27, 10:58*pm, Rich wrote:
Hopefully, if Obama and his anti-TRUE science goons decide to cut the
budget, other countries might step up. *I hope. *Remember, you could
build a HUNDRED of these for what the ISS has cost.

BBC:

24 July 2011 Last updated at 19:36 ET
Why Chile is an astronomer's paradise
Gideon Long By Gideon Long BBC News, Paranal Observatory, Chile

With its crystal clear skies and bone dry air, the Atacama Desert in
northern Chile has long drawn astronomers. Some of the most powerful
telescopes in the world are housed here.

But now, work is about to begin on a telescope that will dwarf them
all - not a VLT (Very Large Telescope) but an ELT (Extremely Large
Telescope).

It will be built 2,600m (8.530ft) up in the Andes on a site
overlooking the Paranal observatory, and when it is finished in 10
years' time it will be the most powerful optical instrument in the
world.

The telescope will be the size of a football stadium, cost around
$1.5bn (£930m) and weigh over 5,000 tonnes.

It will be built to withstand major earthquakes, a serious
consideration in Chile.
Jigsaw puzzle

Astronomers say the images it produces will be 15 times sharper than
those sent to earth by the Hubble space telescope, and might
eventually help us find signs of life on other planets.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO), which operates Paranal, says
the telescope, and others like it, "may eventually revolutionise our
perception of the universe as much as Galileo's telescope did".

The telescope's main mirror will be 42m wide. That is five times
bigger than the mirrors on the existing telescopes at Paranal, which
are already among the biggest in the world.

Because it is impossible to make such a large, curved, high-precision
mirror, engineers in Europe will make nearly 1,000 small hexagonal
mirrors which will be shipped to Chile and fitted together like pieces
in a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Henri Boffin, a senior astronomer at Paranal, says the new telescope
should help scientists address questions raised by the existing
instruments at the observatory.

"What we have been able to do so far is raise a set of questions," Mr
Boffin said. "Like, for example, we have discovered that the expansion
of the universe is accelerating, but we have no clue why.

"There's a kind of dark energy we think is there, but we have no clue
at all what it is. Similarly, we know that the universe is made in
part of dark matter, but we have absolutely no clue what it is, and it
makes up more than 25% of the universe.

"The new telescope will hopefully help us answer these questions."

The construction of the telescope is not the only major astronomical
project in Chile.

Just up the road from Paranal, engineers are completing the
construction of ALMA, the world's biggest network of radio telescopes.

It will consist of more than 60 giant radio dishes, assembled on the
Chajnantor plateau at a dizzying altitude of 5,000m.

Tim de Zeeuw, the head of ESO, says ALMA, which is scheduled to begin
operations later this year, promises to be "as transformational for
science as the Hubble space telescope".
Desert dry

These two projects are cementing Chile's reputation as an astronomer's
paradise. By some calculations, by 2025 the country will be home to
more than half the image-capturing capacity in the world.

Much of the reason for that lies in the desert skies, which are among
the clearest on earth. In some parts of the Atacama Desert, rainfall
has never been recorded.

Altitude is also important, particularly for ALMA. Radio telescopes
pick up wavelengths from outer space, but the signals are often
distorted by water vapor in the earth's atmosphere.

By building at altitude, in dry air, engineers can get above some of
that moisture.

But there are other reasons why astronomers are flocking to Chile.

Being in the southern hemisphere, its observatories are not in direct
competition with those in the United States and Europe, which gaze out
at different skies.

"If you want to do modern astronomy and you want to do it in the
southern hemisphere, you have to do it in Chile," Mr Boffin says.

Politics and infrastructure are also factors. Chile has emerged as one
of the most stable, prosperous countries in the region since its
return to democracy in 1990. That stability is essential for long-term
investment projects like these.

The existing telescopes at Paranal have already helped scientists make
some remarkable discoveries.

For example, they captured the first ever images of a planet outside
our own solar system, and helped astronomers work out the age of the
oldest known star in the Milky Way - it is 13.2bn years old.

One of the observatory's greatest feats was proving that a huge black
hole lies at the centre of the Milky Way.

Scientists calculate that this mysterious void has a mass three
million times larger than the Sun.

The astronomers at Paranal are proud of these achievements but say
they now want more.

And they say their giant new telescope will help them achieve it,
taking our understanding of the universe to the next level.

No Rich Obama and hist team are not anti-science, it the conservatives
that hate science. Think about how scientifically oriented people like
Bachmann, Paul(Both Ron and Rand), Harper (Canadian PM), Ken Ham,
Limbaugh are. These are the people who think that the heat index is a
liberal plot, the earth is flat and only 6000 years old. Do you need
more examples of conservatives who are anti-science. Obama has people
like Holdren, Lubchenco, Varmus and Lander.

yourmommycalledandsaidbehave wrote in
:


No Rich Obama and hist team are not anti-science, it the conservatives
that hate science. Think about how scientifically oriented people like
Bachmann, Paul(Both Ron and Rand), Harper (Canadian PM), Ken Ham,
Limbaugh are. These are the people who think that the heat index is a
liberal plot, the earth is flat and only 6000 years old. Do you need
more examples of conservatives who are anti-science. Obama has people
like Holdren, Lubchenco, Varmus and Lander.


None of that trivia matters. They still believe in science and practical
technology. The only real problems with scientific progress in the past
came from the communists because things like biological inherentance went
against their communist beliefs so they "banned it." It nearly starved
China in the 1950's. Millions died.

yourmommycalledandsaidbehave wrote in
:

On Jul 27, 10:58*pm, Rich wrote:
Hopefully, if Obama and his anti-TRUE science goons decide to cut the
budget, other countries might step up. *I hope. *Remember, you could
build a HUNDRED of these for what the ISS has cost.

BBC:

24 July 2011 Last updated at 19:36 ET
Why Chile is an astronomer's paradise
Gideon Long By Gideon Long BBC News, Paranal Observatory, Chile

With its crystal clear skies and bone dry air, the Atacama Desert in
northern Chile has long drawn astronomers. Some of the most powerful
telescopes in the world are housed here.

But now, work is about to begin on a telescope that will dwarf them
all - not a VLT (Very Large Telescope) but an ELT (Extremely Large
Telescope).

It will be built 2,600m (8.530ft) up in the Andes on a site
overlooking the Paranal observatory, and when it is finished in 10
years' time it will be the most powerful optical instrument in the
world.

The telescope will be the size of a football stadium, cost around
$1.5bn (£930m) and weigh over 5,000 tonnes.

It will be built to withstand major earthquakes, a serious
consideration in Chile.
Jigsaw puzzle

Astronomers say the images it produces will be 15 times sharper than
those sent to earth by the Hubble space telescope, and might
eventually help us find signs of life on other planets.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO), which operates Paranal, says
the telescope, and others like it, "may eventually revolutionise our
perception of the universe as much as Galileo's telescope did".

The telescope's main mirror will be 42m wide. That is five times
bigger than the mirrors on the existing telescopes at Paranal, which
are already among the biggest in the world.

Because it is impossible to make such a large, curved, high-precision
mirror, engineers in Europe will make nearly 1,000 small hexagonal
mirrors which will be shipped to Chile and fitted together like pieces
in a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Henri Boffin, a senior astronomer at Paranal, says the new telescope
should help scientists address questions raised by the existing
instruments at the observatory.

"What we have been able to do so far is raise a set of questions," Mr
Boffin said. "Like, for example, we have discovered that the expansion
of the universe is accelerating, but we have no clue why.

"There's a kind of dark energy we think is there, but we have no clue
at all what it is. Similarly, we know that the universe is made in
part of dark matter, but we have absolutely no clue what it is, and it
makes up more than 25% of the universe.

"The new telescope will hopefully help us answer these questions."

The construction of the telescope is not the only major astronomical
project in Chile.

Just up the road from Paranal, engineers are completing the
construction of ALMA, the world's biggest network of radio telescopes.

It will consist of more than 60 giant radio dishes, assembled on the
Chajnantor plateau at a dizzying altitude of 5,000m.

Tim de Zeeuw, the head of ESO, says ALMA, which is scheduled to begin
operations later this year, promises to be "as transformational for
science as the Hubble space telescope".
Desert dry

These two projects are cementing Chile's reputation as an astronomer's
paradise. By some calculations, by 2025 the country will be home to
more than half the image-capturing capacity in the world.

Much of the reason for that lies in the desert skies, which are among
the clearest on earth. In some parts of the Atacama Desert, rainfall
has never been recorded.

Altitude is also important, particularly for ALMA. Radio telescopes
pick up wavelengths from outer space, but the signals are often
distorted by water vapor in the earth's atmosphere.

By building at altitude, in dry air, engineers can get above some of
that moisture.

But there are other reasons why astronomers are flocking to Chile.

Being in the southern hemisphere, its observatories are not in direct
competition with those in the United States and Europe, which gaze out
at different skies.

"If you want to do modern astronomy and you want to do it in the
southern hemisphere, you have to do it in Chile," Mr Boffin says.

Politics and infrastructure are also factors. Chile has emerged as one
of the most stable, prosperous countries in the region since its
return to democracy in 1990. That stability is essential for long-term
investment projects like these.

The existing telescopes at Paranal have already helped scientists make
some remarkable discoveries.

For example, they captured the first ever images of a planet outside
our own solar system, and helped astronomers work out the age of the
oldest known star in the Milky Way - it is 13.2bn years old.

One of the observatory's greatest feats was proving that a huge black
hole lies at the centre of the Milky Way.

Scientists calculate that this mysterious void has a mass three
million times larger than the Sun.

The astronomers at Paranal are proud of these achievements but say
they now want more.

And they say their giant new telescope will help them achieve it,
taking our understanding of the universe to the next level.

No Rich Obama and hist team are not anti-science, it the conservatives
that hate science. Think about how scientifically oriented people like
Bachmann, Paul(Both Ron and Rand), Harper (Canadian PM), Ken Ham,
Limbaugh are. These are the people who think that the heat index is a
liberal plot, the earth is flat and only 6000 years old. Do you need
more examples of conservatives who are anti-science. Obama has people
like Holdren, Lubchenco, Varmus and Lander.


tide goes in...tide goes out...you can't explain it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcUo9...ature=youtu.be

On Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:58:56 -0700, Rich wrote:

Hopefully, if Obama and his anti-TRUE science goons decide to cut the
budget, other countries might step up.

In SCI, if it contains "obama" in the first sentence of the post, it's a
good indication of a troll.