The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New super camera will snap the ever-changing universe
Hi-tech device will help the study of black holes and distant planets
A camera costing 3.5 million euro will provide “a unique new view of the universe” now it has been installed on the world’s largest telescope, according to the British team behind the project.
HiPERCAM will take high-speed images of objects in the universe on the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC).
Team leader Professor Vik Dhillon, from Sheffield University, said: “The combination of HiPERCAM and the world’s largest telescope provides us with a unique new view of the universe which, history tells us, is when major new discoveries are made.”
Prof Dhillon said the images will allow the dead remnants of stars – white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes – to be studied in unprecedented detail.
By observing objects in our Solar System passing in front of background stars, HiPERCAM will also teach scientists about the sizes and shapes of the minor planets beyond Pluto’s orbit, and whether or not they possess atmospheres, rings and satellites.
Prof Dhillon said that cameras normally installed on large telescopes usually capture only one picture every few minutes.
HiPERCAM can take one picture every millisecond.
The professor said: “The high speed essentially provides a slow-motion view of rapidly varying celestial objects.
“The high-speed images are also captured in five different colours simultaneously, which means we can instantly tell the difference between hot stars – which are burning at tens of thousands of degrees Celsius and are blue in colour – and cooler stars, which appear red and are burning at only a few thousand degrees.”
The GTC is the world’s largest optical telescope with a 10.4 metre mirror diameter.
It is situated 2,500 metres above sea level on the island of La Palma.