(The Guardian) Huntsman telescope launched to hunt for ultra-faint galaxies
A new telescope, called the Huntsman telescope, has been launched at Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran, NSW.
Inspired by the Dragonfly telescope in the US, the Huntsman is the only telescope of its kind in the southern hemisphere and is designed to hunt for ultra-faint galaxies.
The telescope was unveiled by Macquarie University and supported by Canon Australia, who provided an array of 10 super-telephoto lenses that power the telescope.
The telescope’s principal researcher, Dr Lee Spitler, of Macquarie University, said in a statement: The Huntsman telescope is pioneering the way in which we view our southern skies by capturing images of the faintest galaxy structures that conventional telescopes simply couldn’t. The ability to [see] the faintest and smallest galaxies in the universe will help us understand the potential fate of the Milky Way in the far distant future.
Researchers believe the telescope will shed light on galaxy formation and evolution – how galaxies form, how they grow, and what happens when they collide.
Spitler said the telescope would help scientists understand what might happen if our galaxy – the Milky Way – collided with the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy, which is predicted to occur in 4.5bn years.
