UK Astronomers look forward to looking back
When NASA launches its Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) - the agency's fourth 'Great Observatory' - later this week, astronomers around the world will be looking forward to using one of the most powerful time machines ever built. Among those anticipating the opportunity to look back billions of years to an era when the universe was in its youth are Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson (Imperial College London) and Dr. Sebastian Oliver (University of Sussex), who will be participating in the international SIRTF Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic (SWIRE) survey. Taking advantage of SIRTF's ability to detect infrared radiation (heat) from the coolest objects in the universe, the SWIRE team w