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First Light for SPECULOOS Southern Observatory

posted by martyb on Monday December 10 2018, @11:48PM   Printer-friendly
from the 'dim'-chances dept.

takyon writes:

SPECULOOS Project Makes Its First Observations

The SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) has been successfully installed at the Paranal Observatory and has obtained its first engineering and calibration images — a process known as first light. After finishing this commissioning phase, this new array of planet-hunting telescopes will begin scientific operations, starting in earnest in January 2019.

SSO is the core facility of a new exoplanet-hunting project called Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars (SPECULOOS), and consists of four telescopes equipped with 1-metre primary mirrors. The telescopes — named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto after the four Galilean moons of Jupiter — will enjoy pristine observing conditions at the Paranal site, which is also home to ESO's flagship Very Large Telescope (VLT). Paranal provides a near-perfect site for astronomy, with dark skies and a stable, arid climate.

These telescopes have a momentous task — SPECULOOS aims to search for potentially habitable Earth-sized planets surrounding ultra-cool stars or brown dwarfs, whose planetary populations are still mostly unexplored. Only a few exoplanets have been found orbiting such stars, and even fewer lie within their parent star's habitable zone. Even though these dim stars are hard to observe, they are abundant — comprising about 15% of the stars in the nearby universe. SPECULOOS is designed to explore 1000 such stars, including the nearest, brightest, and smallest, in search of Earth-sized habitable planets.

SPECULOOS.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @01:33AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 11 2018, @01:33AM (#772702)

    I love that speculoos spread. Basically crushed up versions of the biscuits mixed with butter to turn it into a paste like peanut butter.

    I wonder if they have huge amounts of the that stuff in jars in the observatory kitchen?

    Serious question. So serious that I choose to post as an AC.

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 11 2018, @02:00AM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Tuesday December 11 2018, @02:00AM (#772713) Journal

    https://www.speculoos.uliege.be/cms/c_4549250/en/speculnew-team [uliege.be]

    You can email them.

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  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday December 11 2018, @02:27AM (1 child)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Tuesday December 11 2018, @02:27AM (#772723) Homepage Journal

    ... said the 200 inch night assistant - big scopes are _always_ moved around by trained night assistants, never the researchers.

    "... that was canned before Christ."

    I'd puzzled over that same can of chili myself. Just the regulation fifteen-ounce can, with each end bulging out a good quarter inch.

    Mmm-mmm good!

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    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Muad'Dave on Tuesday December 11 2018, @12:27PM

      by Muad'Dave (1413) on Tuesday December 11 2018, @12:27PM (#772832)

      Do you mean the chili was canned prior to canning Christ, or was the chili canned in Christ's presence?

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday December 11 2018, @04:27PM

    by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Tuesday December 11 2018, @04:27PM (#772918) Homepage
    I also always used to love speculaaspasta, and immediately recognised the spicy little word play in the name. However, recognising that makes it obvious that this announcement is not really an important one - "starting in earnest in January" kind of gives it away - they're just whoring for attention, as speculaas biscuits are traditionally eaten at around St. Nick's - i.e. right bloody now.

    I can't get speculaas (biscuits or spread) here - but I can get stroopwafels. I'm out right now, but think I might just head to the supermarket for a restock...
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