Tweet
10 December 2010
Last updated at 12:08 ET
The E-Merlin telescope has proven its capabilities with a striking image of a quasar nine billion light-years away.
E-Merlin is an array of seven linked UK radio telescopes, updated last year with fibre optic technology that has vastly increased its power.
Light from the Double Quasar has been bent by a massive object between it and the Earth, resulting in a double image.
This gravitational lensing is a powerful demonstration of one aspect of Einstein's theory of relativity.
The quasar - short for quasi-stellar radio source - sprays out tremendous amounts of energy and matter, powered by a super-massive black hole at its heart.
The E-Merlin image shows how gravitational lensing can produce multiple images of the quasar. Visible at the top is a rich picture of the quasar and the jet of radio waves coming out of it at near light-speeds.
Below that is a duplicate image of the quasar; just above it is the fainter image of the nearer galaxy that does the lensing.
Continue reading the main story * idtelescope typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987652 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45641000/jpg/_45641692_telescope_3_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987600/7987652.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987652.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987652 A look inside a giant telescope
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.
Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien shows BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle inside the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire.
* idmicrowaves typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987690 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45641000/jpg/_45641752_microwave_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987600/7987690.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987690.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987690 Array moves on from microwaves
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.
Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien explains why microwave technology has held back the UK telescope array.
* idopticalfibre typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987706 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45641000/jpg/_45641806_optics_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987700/7987706.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987706.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987706 Optical fibre future for array
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.
Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien explains why linking up seven telescopes with optical fibres will make a huge difference to astronomers.
* idnewspaceview typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987793 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45642000/jpg/_45642002_science_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987700/7987793.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987793.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987793 Array to probe new areas of space
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.
Tim O'Brien explains how the e-Merlin array will let astronomers see part of the cosmos they have never seen before.
The image demonstrates how the 2009 data-link upgrade for the array of telescopes, run from the Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire, has improved its vision.
Previously, the seven telescopes passed data to one another through antennas operating in the microwave region. It was a slow and lossy process that fibre-optic links have now replaced, with promising results.
"E-Merlin is going to be a transformational telescope," said Mike Garrett, director of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. "Astronomers around the world can't wait to get their hands on it.
"As a pathfinder for the next-generation international radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, E-Merlin represents another giant leap forward for the global radio astronomy community."
Powered by WizardRSS | Best Membership Site Software
E-Merlin is an array of seven linked UK radio telescopes, updated last year with fibre optic technology that has vastly increased its power.
Light from the Double Quasar has been bent by a massive object between it and the Earth, resulting in a double image.
This gravitational lensing is a powerful demonstration of one aspect of Einstein's theory of relativity.
The quasar - short for quasi-stellar radio source - sprays out tremendous amounts of energy and matter, powered by a super-massive black hole at its heart.
The E-Merlin image shows how gravitational lensing can produce multiple images of the quasar. Visible at the top is a rich picture of the quasar and the jet of radio waves coming out of it at near light-speeds.
Below that is a duplicate image of the quasar; just above it is the fainter image of the nearer galaxy that does the lensing.
Continue reading the main story * idtelescope typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987652 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45641000/jpg/_45641692_telescope_3_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987600/7987652.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987652.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987652 A look inside a giant telescope
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien shows BBC science reporter Rebecca Morelle inside the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire.
* idmicrowaves typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987690 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45641000/jpg/_45641752_microwave_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987600/7987690.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987690.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987690 Array moves on from microwaves
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien explains why microwave technology has held back the UK telescope array.
* idopticalfibre typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987706 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45641000/jpg/_45641806_optics_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987700/7987706.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987706.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987706 Optical fibre future for array
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.Astrophysicist Tim O'Brien explains why linking up seven telescopes with optical fibres will make a huge difference to astronomers.
* idnewspaceview typeav width488 top34 leftauto av_idembeddedPlayer_pmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987793 av_width448 av_height287 av_holdinghttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45642000/jpg/_45642002_science_512.jpg av_playlisthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/media/emp/7980000/7987700/7987793.xml av_config_settings_autoPlaytrue av_config_settings_showPopoutButtonfalse av_autoPlaytrue av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_pageTypeeav1 av_config_plugin_fmtjLiveStats_editionDomestic av_fmtjDocURI/1/hi/sci/tech/7987793.stm av_div_idpmfwk-av-custom-emp-7987793 Array to probe new areas of space
Please turn on JavaScript.Media requires JavaScript to play.Tim O'Brien explains how the e-Merlin array will let astronomers see part of the cosmos they have never seen before.
The image demonstrates how the 2009 data-link upgrade for the array of telescopes, run from the Jodrell Bank observatory in Cheshire, has improved its vision.
Previously, the seven telescopes passed data to one another through antennas operating in the microwave region. It was a slow and lossy process that fibre-optic links have now replaced, with promising results.
"E-Merlin is going to be a transformational telescope," said Mike Garrett, director of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. "Astronomers around the world can't wait to get their hands on it.
"As a pathfinder for the next-generation international radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, E-Merlin represents another giant leap forward for the global radio astronomy community."
Powered by WizardRSS | Best Membership Site Software