telescopes

A stunning new composite photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope, made up of more than 2,000 images shot by multiple cameras over the past 10 years and combined in what amounts to a 23-day time exposure, shows some 5,500 galaxies in tiny field of view, including some dating back to just 450 million years after the big bang birth of the universe, astronomers said Tuesday.

Dubbed the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photograph represents the deepest view of the universe yet achieved, giving astronomers a "time tunnel"-like glimpse back across 13.2 billion years … Read more

PALOMAR MOUNTAIN, Calif.--If you want to talk big scientific breakthroughs, how about quasars and supernovae?

Those are just two of the most important discoveries in the long, very storied history of the Palomar Observatory, a set of telescopes and other astronomical instruments located at the top of this mountain northeast of San Diego. And while the facility no longer holds quite the place in the astronomy community that it once had, for most of the second half of the 20th century, it was the undisputed champion of the world.

Topping the bill at Palomar is its groundbreaking 200-inch Hale Telescope. … Read more

No, it's not something out of a Monty Python sketch. The "European Extremely Large Telescope" is, in fact, a real project. And it is, in fact, extremely large.

Or it will be, once it's built -- it'll be the world's largest optical/infrared telescope, actually. And with the recent vote to move the project beyond planning stages, the E-ELT may well be operational by sometime early in the next decade.… Read more

The stars aligned early this week for the transit of Venus, a special astronomical phenomenon that usually only occurs twice in a century. During this happening, observers can view Venus' passage across the sun from Earth. After it completes the final stretch on June 6, the event won't occur again until December 11, 2117.

Crave scoured the photo-sharing site Flickr and found some truly mesmerizing shots from amateur photographers based in the U.S., as well as several snaps from people planted elsewhere around the world.… Read more

SUNSPOT, N.M.--Back in 1950, an order was placed for a grain bin from the Sears Catalog. That bin was delivered up to the far reaches of the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico, and after some modifications, it became the first solar telescope in Sunspot.

Sunspot may be the geekiest town in America. It's an unincorporated community full of scientists and support staff for the National Solar Observatory. The road leading into town is State Highway 6563, named for a hydrogen emission line wavelength used in stellar astronomy. … Read more

Talk about a DIY project. Astronomers and others at several U.S. universities have just about completed work on a seven-year, $14 million project to build a spectrometer that will enable them to study the earliest galaxies in the universe.

The 5-ton Mosfire (Multi-Object Spectrometer for Infra-Red Exploration) gathers infrared light and can thus see through cosmic dust to distant objects whose light has been stretched into the infrared spectrum by the expansion of the universe.… Read more

The Obama administration is requesting $17.7 billion for NASA in its fiscal 2013 budget--down slightly from 2012 levels--doubling the amount spent on development of new commercial manned spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station and giving a substantial boost to the delayed and over-budget successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Funding for the space station and ongoing development of new rockets and capsules for deep space exploration remains roughly constant, but the agency's hugely successful Mars exploration program will be sharply scaled back, in large part to offset gains in other areas.

Putting an … Read more

The Helix Nebula, which lies in the constellation of Aquarius, is one of the closest planetary nebulae to Earth.

Even so, it might take you awhile to travel there for a closer look--it being about 700 light-years away. Luckily, the European Southern Observatory has released a new image that provides a sharper view of the Helix Nebula, as seen in infrared light. Taken by ESO's VISTA telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, the image shows strands of cold nebular gas emanating from what looks like a giant eye. Thanks to the telescope's special detectors, the picture also … Read more

As the four stamps in my passport can attest, Australia is my travel destination of choice.

The only problem is that with such an immense place, even a two-week trip will show you only a corner of the country. So when an Aussie friend suggested that during a recent visit, I take a road trip to the small town where he was born, I jumped at the chance. And when I learned that the town was Parkes, I got even more excited. … Read more