A unique and novel optical telescope has recently started operating. Perched on a mountaintop in the Indian Himalayas, the ILMT uses a low-cost 4-metre rotating parabolic mirror, surfaced with a thin reflecting film of liquid mercury, to collect and focus light. The telescope views objects as they pass overhead, compensating for the Earth's rotation by continuously scanning its electronic camera. In a single night it is able to survey an area of sky that is 250 times larger than the full moon. The ILMT observes the same strip of sky night after night, looking for anything that changes, including asteroids, supernovae, variable stars, active galaxies, quasars and space debris. I will give an overview of the project and describe the technology that made it possible.
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2024-04-05T15:00:002024-04-05T16:00:00The International Liquid-Mirror TelescopeEvent Information:
Abstract:
A unique and novel optical telescope has recently started operating. Perched on a mountaintop in the Indian Himalayas, the ILMT uses a low-cost 4-metre rotating parabolic mirror, surfaced with a thin reflecting film of liquid mercury, to collect and focus light. The telescope views objects as they pass overhead, compensating for the Earth's rotation by continuously scanning its electronic camera. In a single night it is able to survey an area of sky that is 250 times larger than the full moon. The ILMT observes the same strip of sky night after night, looking for anything that changes, including asteroids, supernovae, variable stars, active galaxies, quasars and space debris. I will give an overview of the project and describe the technology that made it possible.
Bio:
Paul Hickson is a professor of Astronomy at UBC.
Learn More:
Find out more on Paul's faculty webpage here
Read about the International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) telescope from this UBC Science article here
Watch Paul talk about the ILMT telescope on Youtube here
Here's another article about the 4 metre International Liquid Mirror TelescopeEvent Location:
HENN 201
