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Articles on Telescope

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Artist’s concept of the supermassive black hole and the gas clouds surrounding it. NRAO/AUI/NSF; Dana Berry / SkyWorks; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

How we caught a glimpse of a supermassive black hole having a meal

Astronomers have detected clumpy gas clouds on the verge of being swallowed by a supermassive black hole, rushing towards it at over 537,000 miles an hour.
20 tons of Ohara E6 borosilicate glass being loaded onto the mold of one of the GMT’s mirrors. Ray Bertram, Steward Observatory

How do you build a mirror for one of the world’s biggest telescopes?

The laws of physics dictate that to pick out ever fainter objects from space and see them more sharply, we’re going to need a bigger telescope. And that means we need massive mirrors.
A telescope can open up on the wonders of the heavens. Grand Canyon National Park/Flickr

What to look for when buying a telescope

Stargazing in your back yard or on a camping trip can amaze and inspire. If you’re thinking of buying a telescope, here are a few key things you should look out for.
Artist’s concept of Giant Magellan Telescope once completed, with its seven mirrors. Giant Magellan Telescope - GMTO Corporation

Extremely large telescopes will add more firepower to search the cosmos

As an astronomer, I get a lot of requests for help. “I’d like to buy a telescope,” the conversation usually goes. “Can you give me some tips on what to look for?” Sadly, there’s little advice I can offer…
A fast radio burst was detected live at Parkes in May 2014. Flickr/Wayne England

A faster response needed to see Fast Radio Bursts in the universe

Astronomers are trying to improve their hunt for rapid bursts of radio emission in the universe called Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) so they can better observe these mysterious events, which are thought to…
Artist’s impression of the planet Kepler 62-f which could lie in the habitable zone of its host star 1,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech

The tools needed to seek out new worlds out there in space

More than 1,000 exoplanets have now been discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope, announced NASA this month, and the figure continues to climb. Three of the newly confirmed Kepler planets are thought…
The Mopra telescope will find itself out of commission in a year. Balt Indermuehle

Meet a real interstellar explorer – but its days are numbered

Australia’s Mopra telescope, nestled in NSW’s Warrumbungle National Park, is earmarked for closure in a year thanks to CSIRO funding cuts. But this one-of-a-kind telescope is well worth saving. Few of…

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