To accelerate the pace of discovery and exploration of the cosmos, a multi-institution team of astronomers and engineers has developed a new and improved version of an unconventional radio-astronomy imaging system known as a phased array feed (PAF). This remarkable instrument can survey vast swaths of the sky and generate multiple views of astronomical objects…
Earth-Space Telescope System Produces Hot Surprise
Astronomers using an orbiting radio telescope in conjunction with four ground-based radio telescopes have achieved the highest resolution, or ability to discern fine detail, of any astronomical observation ever made. Their achievement produced a pair of scientific surprises that promise to advance the understanding of quasars, supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies. The…
Radar Images Provide Details on Halloween Asteroid
The highest-resolution radar images of asteroid 2015 TB145’s safe flyby of Earth have been processed and yield new information about its surface features. To obtain these highest-resolution radar images of the asteroid, scientists used the 230-foot (70-meter) DSS-14 antenna at Goldstone, California, to transmit high-power microwaves toward the asteroid. The signal bounced off the asteroid,…