Navigation
Search
|
The Highest Observatory On Earth Is Now Open
Saturday May 4, 2024. 05:34 PM , from Slashdot
TAO is located on the summit of Atacama's Cerro Chajnantor mountain, whose name means 'place of departure' in the now-extinct Kunza language of the indigenous Likan Antai community. The region's high altitude, sparse atmosphere and perennially arid climate is deadly to humans, but makes an excellent spot for infrared telescopes like TAO as their observational accuracies rely on low moisture levels, which render Earth's atmosphere transparent in infrared wavelengths. TAO's 6.5-meter telescope consists of two science instruments designed to observe the universe in infrared, which is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than visible light but shorter than microwaves. One of the instruments, named SWIMS, will image galaxies from the very early universe to understand how they coalesced out of pristine dust and gas, a process whose specifics remain murky despite decades of research. The second, named MIMIZUKU, will aid the overarching science goal by studying primordial disks of dust within which stars and galaxies are known to form, according to the mission plan. Constructing the telescope on the summit of Mt. Chajnantor 'was an incredible challenge, not just technically, but politically too,' Yuzuru Yoshii, a professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan who spearheaded TAO since 1998, said in a statement. 'I have liaised with Indigenous peoples to ensure their rights and views are considered, the Chilean government to secure permission, local universities for technical collaboration, and even the Chilean Health Ministry to make sure people can work at that altitude in a safe manner.' 'Thanks to all involved, research I've only ever dreamed about can soon become a reality, and I couldn't be happier,' he added. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/05/03/233253/the-highest-observatory-on-earth-is-now-open?utm_...
Related News |
25 sources
Current Date
May, Sat 18 - 11:56 CEST
|