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The ESA teamed with Nissan to build an off-road astronomy lab
Nissan unveiled its Navara Dark Sky concept vehicle at the Hannover Motor Show this week, and it's a vehicle designed for astronomers. The truck is an enhanced version of the automaker's Navara vehicle and along with including some handy new features, it also has a trailer in tow that carries a powerful PlaneWave telescope. Designed with the European Space Agency, the trailer not only houses the telescope but has a number of features that protect the telescope and help researchers collect and transmit data.
The trailer boasts a refrigerated interior that helps stabilize the telescope and battery packs can power a WiFi hotspot, a laptop station and a UHF transmitter for data relay. Further, the truck itself makes use of red lighting in order to cut down on light pollution while the ProPilot driver assistance technology takes the trailer into account and helps locate parking that best accommodates the trailer and telescope.
Seems like a good platform for measuring occultations.
Also at Autoblog.
(Score: 0) by MyOpinion on Thursday September 27 2018, @10:31PM
May I add, experimenting with mylar and different other membrane materials plus a parabolic dish works pretty well too: it can turn into a large parabolic mirror with practically no grinding (albeit a bit extra care needed to stick the membrane on the dish's surface with no air bubbles). It will also be lighter.
Truth is like a Lion: you need not defend it; let it loose, and it defends itself. https://discord.gg/3FScNwc