Discovery Channel Telescope: ‘First Light’ Photos
July 21, 2012 — The Discovery Channel Telescope at Lowell Observatory, near Flagstaff, Ariz., is complete and has begun observing the cosmos with its 16-million-pixel camera. This camera is a close relative to the NSF-funded 36-million-pixel Large Monolithic Imager (LMI) that is now undergoing advanced testing and will soon be the primary imager for the DCT.
In this first light observation by the DCT, the barred spiral galaxy M109 has been imaged. M109 is around 84 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major.
(via distant-traveller)
Source: news.discovery.com
Greetings from Kitt Peak!
Sorry for the slowdown in posts in recent days, dear followers. I’m in the middle of an observing run at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA. Good weather and long nights have meant a very productive trip, scientifically, but I’ve not had much of a chance to update the blog. Headed back to Austin by the middle of next week and back on more of a normal schedule.
Thanks, as always, for reading!
btw that’s the active galaxy Messier 82 (aka NGC 3034), sometimes known as the “Cigar Galaxy”. Taken with the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona, in February 2009.
Astronomy news, recent research results, and pretty pictures from the media along with context, commentary, and explanations for folks who dig this sort of thing. Written by a quasi-professional astronomer affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin.
