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Principles Behind Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter Technology

Narrowband or hyperspectral imaging is a valuable technique used in planetary science for characterizing surfaces and surrounding environments. For example, it can be used to spatially map molecular species of interest on the surface of a solid or icy body, or to sound to different depths in a giant planet atmosphere.

24 Oct 2014

Heart of James Webb Space Telescope Emerges Unscathed from Extremely Frigid Temperature Test

After 116 days of being subjected to extremely frigid temperatures like that in space, the heart of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) and its sensitive instruments, emerged unscathed from the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

24 Oct 2014

Hubble Telescope Uncovers Three Kuiper Belt Objects

Peering out to the dim, outer reaches of our solar system, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered three Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) the agency’s New Horizons spacecraft could potentially visit after it flies by Pluto in July 2015.

16 Oct 2014

People Working on SKA Telescope Gather in Australia for Engineering Meeting

Some 300 engineers and scientists from 15 countries have travelled to Fremantle, Western Australia, to take part in a global overview of the status, progress and way forward for the Square Kilometre Array. To date, this is the largest gathering of people working on the SKA ever organised.

1 Oct 2014

Clear Skies, Steamy Water Vapor Discovered on Gaseous Exoplanet by Three NASA Telescopes

Astronomers using data from three of NASA's space telescopes -- Hubble, Spitzer, and Kepler -- have discovered clear skies and steamy water vapor on a gaseous planet outside our solar system. The planet is about the size of Neptune, making it the smallest for which molecules of any kind have been detected.

25 Sep 2014

L-3 AOC Successfully Completes Coating of Large Optic for 6.5m MMT

L-3 Corporation’s Applied Optics Center (AOC) recently completed the coating of a large optic for the 6.5 m MMT. The MMT, located on the site of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, is one of the world’s largest astronomical telescopes, located on top of the 8,530-high Mount Hopkins, south of Tucson, Arizona.

From L-3 Applied Optics Center 24 Sep 2014

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Finds Massive Galaxies in the Darkest Reaches of the Universe

A new survey of galaxies by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is taking a plunge into the deep and uncharted waters of our cosmos. In one of the longest surveys the telescope will have ever performed, astronomers have begun a three-month expedition trawling for faint galaxies billions of light-years away.

11 Sep 2014

Balloon-Borne Telescope to Ascend above Fort Sumner to Stare at Black Holes, Other Exotic Astronomical Objects

Many a child has forgotten to hold tight to the string of a helium balloon only to have it escape and rise until it disappeared in the glare of the sun. Helium balloons want to rise, but launching a balloon big enough to hold a 747 jetliner with room to spare at the nose and tail and both wingtips isn’t as easy as just letting it go.

1 Sep 2014

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope Spots Asteroid Smashup for the First Time

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted an eruption of dust around a young star, possibly the result of a smashup between large asteroids. This type of collision can eventually lead to the formation of planets.

1 Sep 2014

StereoVision Imaging Demonstrates Mobile, Hand-Held 3D Binocular Technology

StereoVision Imaging, Inc. (SVI) recently demonstrated its latest mobile, hand-held 3D binocular technology to government officials in the Los Angeles, CA area at ranges greater than 200 meters from point of use. The patented SVI technology allows users to view "persons of interest" through binocular optics and then capture a 3D video clip.

26 Aug 2014

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