Press release: A new era of precision astronomy

Nr. 232/2015 - 07.10.2015

Astrophysicists from Göttingen University participate in development of telescope camera

(pug) Astrophysicists from the University of Göttingen are participating in the development of the MICADO camera, a first light instrument for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is building the revolutionary 39-m telescope in Chile. The E-ELT will be the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world, gathering about 15 times more light than the largest optical telescopes today. In the coming years, MICADO will be developed by a consortium of scientific institutions in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Italy. As the first dedicated camera, it will equip the E-ELT with a capability for diffraction-limited imaging at near-infrared wavelengths.

The key capabilities of MICADO (“Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations”) are matched to the unique features of the new telescope and will lead to discoveries of new or unexplored astrophysical phenomena. To name but a few: Its high sensitivity will allow it to detect the faintest stars and furthest galaxies in detail far beyond what is currently possible – for instance, by resolving stellar populations in distant galaxies, their star formation history and evolution can be studied. And with the superb astrometric precision achieved by MICADO, many astronomical objects will no longer be static – they will become dynamic. Measuring the tiny movements of stars will reveal the presence of otherwise hidden black holes in star clusters, and tracking the motions of star clusters will lead to new insights about how our Milky Way formed.

The scientists from the University of Göttingen will concentrate on the large structures carrying the heavy components, which connects and adjusts the entire installation to the telescope. They will also deal with the challenge of making the installation rigid and earthquake-proof, as it will be operated in a seismically very active region. The personal and financial volume of their participation will cover around three million euros in the end, of which a large fraction up to now has been granted through the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. “Once we have launched this camera at the telescope in 2024, they both will provide us with completely new possibilities of observation,” says Dr. Harald Nicklas from Göttingen University’s Institute for Astrophysics.

Further information can be found online at www.mpe.mpg.de/6460495/News_20151006.

Contact:
Dr. Harald Nicklas
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Fakultät of Physics
Institute for Astrophysics
Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Phone: +49 551 39-5039
Email: nicklas@astro.physik.uni-goettingen.de
Web: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/224853.html