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University of Central Lancashire is Light Years Ahead

May 27, 1999

University of Central Lancashire is Light Years Ahead

The University of Central Lancashire will soon be able to gaze farther into the mysteries of the universe and its origins than ever before. The Centre for Astrophysics, in the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Maths, is part of a consortium of 18 Universities that has been successful in its huge bid for 24.8 million pounds for a VISTA 4-metre 'survey' telescope.

The telescope, known as VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy), capable of mapping huge areas of the sky to great depth will be built as a national facility. It will be sited high in the Chilean Andes and use instruments a hundred times more sensitive than anything available in the world. VISTA will produce 'atlases' of the sky in the optical and infrared wavelengths.

The earliest stars and galaxies are largely hidden from view in ordinary light but should be readily detectable in infrared light. "This is where VISTA will conduct ground-breaking surveys and literally shed new light on those key 'origin questions'." Said Dr Jim Emerson of Queen Mary College, University of London, the leader of the consortium.

The telescope will allow the University of Central Lancashire to develop its existing research projects in new and exciting ways, allow the creation of hitherto impossible projects, and support the work of staff and research students for many years to come. Chris Haines, a PPARC funded research student from the University is on a six month secondment to the University of Chile. Chris is working on very deep images from the American-owned CTIO 4m Blanco Telescope in Chile.
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The new VISTA will be able to survey the whole southern sky in much greater detail. It will survey quasars (bright but very distant galaxies) and will help to plot the unknown period of the universe between its very 'smooth' beginnings around 13,000 million years ago, and the very highly structured universe we have today.

VISTA will work alongside a telescope by the name of 'Gemini'. 'Gemini' is a huge 8m model owned by a large international consortium, of which Britain has a 23% share.

Dr Roger Clowes, Reader in Astrophysics, and the representative from the University of Central Lancashire on the VISTA project spoke proudly of British Astronomy. "In recent years Britain has led the world in this sort of survey astronomy. This is just the beginning of the modern generation of survey work. Now we can lead the world for the next 20 years."

Funding for the project will come from the 'Joint Infrastructure' (JIF) initiative. This is a partnership initiative between the DTI, the Wellcome Trust, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The partnership enables UK universities to invest in new facilities and equipment that underpin basic research projects to ensure British Universities remain at the forefront of international scientific research.

The University was informed by a letter from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). The PPARC's Chief Executive to Queen Mary amd Westfield College, University of London wrote: "You should be aware that around 180 applications ... The scientific standard of the applications was high and competition for funding intense, so that it has been possible to fund only those bids of the most outstanding quality."
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Professor Gordon Bromage, Head of the Centre for Astrophysics at the University was delighted:
"This is great news for us, and for UK observational astronomy in general. The survey work based on the new telescope is a major part of the Centre for Astrophysics research programme."

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CONTACTS:

For Further information and interviews with Dr Roger Clowes and Professor Gordon Bromage at the University of Central Lancashire please contact:
Amy Poole
Communications Office
Tel: 01772 892481

14 May, 1999
NR050AP


Central Lancashire, University of