"HAVE YOU EVER PONDERED YOUR EXISTENCE" "WHILE GAZING UPON A STARRY NIGHT," "PLANETS, STARS, GALAXIES" "SPINNING OFF ENDLESSLY INTO SPACE," "OVERWHELMED BY THE VASTNESS YET CONNECTED BY THE KNOWLEDGE" "THAT YOU'RE PART OF IT?" "FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD" "SHAPED THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE" "THROUGH PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION, AND IN THE PAST 400 YEARS," "BY MODERN SCIENCE AND THE TELESCOPE." "BUT WHAT MOST OF US DON'T REALIZE" "IS THAT OUR PICTURE OF THE UNIVERSE" "AND OUR PLACE IN IT IS ONCE AGAIN ABOUT TO CHANGE." "¶ ¶" "MAJOR FUNDING FOR 4AT THE NIGHT SKY," "WE IMAGINE EARTH SPINNING ON ITS AXIS" "AS IT ORBITS THE SUN," "ITSELF AN ORBIT WITHIN THE MILKY WAY," "A GALAXY, ONE AMONG BILLIONS ACROSS THE ENDLESS SEA OF SPACE." "THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR CURRENT VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE" "EMERGED DURING THE 1920s," "WHEN AN ASTRONOMER TURNED THE LARGEST TELESCOPE OF THE ERA" "TOWARDS MYSTERIOUS PATCHES OF LIGHT ON THE SKY" "CALLED SPIRAL NEBULAE." "WE ARE STANDING AT THE 100-INCH HOOKER TELESCOPE" "AT MOUNT WILSON IN PASADENA, CALIFORNIA." "THIS TELESCOPE WAS THE BRAINCHILD" "OF CARNEGIE ASTRONOMER GEORGE ELLERY HALE." "AND HALE HAD THE IDEA THAT IF YOU WERE TO BUILD TELESCOPES" "WITH VERY LARGE REFLECTING MIRRORS," "THEN ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES WOULD SOON FOLLOW." "AND HALE'S VISION WAS BORNE OUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY" "WITH THE WORK OF EDWIN HUBBLE, WHO DISCOVERED THAT THE UNIVERSE" "IS MUCH LARGER THAN ORIGINALLY WAS THOUGHT," "THAT THERE ARE GALAXIES OUTSIDE THE MILKY WAY" "AND ALSO THAT THESE GALAXIES" "ARE TAKING PART IN AN OVERALL EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE." "COMPLETELY REVOLUTIONIZED OUR PICTURE" "OF THE UNIVERSE WE LIVE IN" "FROM A RELATIVELY SMALL, STATIC UNIVERSE" "TO A DYNAMIC AND EXPANDING UNIVERSE." "WITH ONLY A FEW OBSERVATIONS," "OUR MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE CHANGED." "TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERED ONE MAN TO SEE THE COSMOS" "AS NEVER BEFORE." "TODAY ASTROPHYSICISTS FORESEE DRAMATIC ADVANCES" "DRIVEN BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF SUPER OBSERVATORIES" "EQUIPPED WITH A NEW GENERATION OF DETECTORS" "THAT WILL REVEAL A HIDDEN UNIVERSE" "THAT CURRENT OBSERVERS CAN BARELY SEE." "THESE SKY WATCHERS ARE NOT SOOTHSAYERS" "GAZING INTO CRYSTAL BALLS." "THEY JUST KNOW THAT EVERY TIME" "WE POINT A NEW AND LARGER TELESCOPE TOWARD THE HEAVENS," "OUR KNOWLEDGE TAKES A GIANT LEAP FORWARD." "HISTORY IS SET TO REPEAT ITSELF." "TELESCOPE LENSES CAME FROM SPECTACLE LENSES." "SPECTACLE LENSES HAD BEEN AROUND IN EUROPE SINCE ABOUT 1300." "AND AS SOCIETY BECAME MORE LITERATE," "READING GLASSES BECAME MORE COMMON." "BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 16TH CENTURY," "SPECTACLE LENSES WERE MADE FROM GLASS DISKS" "THAT WERE GROUND AND POLISHED ON BOTH SIDES." "AND NOW WE WERE APPROACHING THE QUALITY NECESSARY" "FOR A TELESCOPE." "THE ACTUAL INVENTOR OF THE TELESCOPE" "MAY NEVER BE KNOWN." "MANY CLAIMANTS HAVE APPEARED." "TWO LIVE IN THE SMALL TOWN OF MIDDLEBURG" "IN THE NETHERLANDS," "SACHARIAS JANSEN AND HANS LIPPERHEY." "HISTORICAL RECORDS LINK BOTH TO THE IENTION," "BUT IT'S LIPPERHEY WHO USUALLY GETS THE CREDIT." "IN SEPTEMBER 1608, HANS LIPPERHEY CAME FORWARD" "WITH A TELESCOPE, AND- A THREE-POWERED SPYGLASS," "PRESUMABLY." "AND HE TRAVELED TO THE HAGUE, WHERE HE PRESENTED IT" "TO PRINCE MAURICE," "WHO WAS THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DUTCH ARMED FORCES." "IN THE MEANTIME," "ANOTHER PERSON FROM MIDDLEBURG CAME FORWARD" "AND SAID THAT HE HAD A TELESCOPE." "AND ON TOP OF THAT," "ANOTHER PERSON, FROM THE CITY OF ALKMAAR," "JACOB METIUS, CAME FORWARD AND SAID HE HAD THE SAME THING." "AND SO NOW THE STATES-GENERAL" "NOTICED THAT YOU CAN'T KEEP THIS THING A SECRET;" "IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE." "AND SO THEY DO NOT GRANT LIPPERHEY A PATENT," "AND IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE ALL OVER EUROPE." "AND SO BY THE SPRING OF 1609," "THE SPYGLASS IS FOR SALE IN PARIS." "AND FROM THERE, IT MOVES ON TO OTHER COUNTRIES, LIKE ITALY." "IT IS AT THIS POINT THAT GALILEO" "TAKES THIS LITTLE THREE-POWERED SPYGLASS" "AND SEES THE POTENTIAL OF IT." "AND THAT'S THE START OF TELESCOPIC ASTRONOMY." "BY EARLY SUMMER OF 1609, GALILEO GALILEl," "A PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA," "LEARNED OF LIPPERHEY'S TELESCOPE AND QUICKLY CONSTRUCTED" "A BETTER ONE OF HIS OWN." "OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, HE MADE SEVERAL INSTRUMENTS," "EACH WITH AN INCREASE IN MAGNIFYING POWER." "BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL NOVEMBER OF 1609" "THAT HE TURNED HIS TELESCOPE TO THE HEAVENS." "HE WOULD LATER WRITE IN HIS BOOK" "SIDERIUS NUNCIUS, "THE STARRY MESSENGER"..." "FORSAKING TERRESTRIAL OBSERVATIONS," "I TURNED TO CELESTIAL ONES." "AND FIRST I SAW THE MOON FROM US NEAR AT HAND" "AS IF IT WERE SCARCELY TWO TERRESTRIAL RADII AWAY." "I HAVE BEEN LED TO THE OPINION AND CONVICTION" "THAT THE SURFACE OF THE MOON" "IS NOT SMOOTH, UNIFORM, AND PRECISELY SPHERICAL," "AS A GREAT NUMBER OF PHILOSOPHERS BELIEVE IT" "AND THE OTHER HEAVENLY BODIES TO BE," "BUT IS UNEVEN, ROUGH, AND FULL OF CAVITIES AND PROMINENCES" "NOT BEING UNLIKE THE FACE OF THE EARTH." "WHAT GALILEO OBSERVED ON THAT NIGHT" "AND THE NIGHT THAT FOLLOWED" "WAS A UNIVERSE SURPRISINGLY DIFFERENT" "FROM THE ONE IMAGINED BY THE GREEKS" "NEARLY 2,000 YEARS EARLIER." "THE GREEKS BELIEVED THAT ALL HEAVENLY OBJECTS," "IMMENSELY DISTANT AND UNREACHABLE," "WERE PERFECTLY SMOOTH ORBS" "MADE OF MATERIALS UNLIKE THOSE OF THE EARTH." "THEY BELIEVED THE STARS WERE FIXED TO A GIANT SPHERE" "THAT ENCLOSED THE COSMOS." "FARTHER INWARD," "THE PLANETS SATURN, JUPITER, AND MARS" "WERE EACH EMBEDDED IN SEPARATE CRYSTALLINE SPHERES." "THOSE THAT CARRY THE SUN, VENUS, AND MERCURY" "LAY STILL CLOSER TO US, WITH THE MOON NEAREST OF ALL" "TO OUR IMPERFECT EARTH," "WHICH ITSELF LAY AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL." "THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY" "GAVE THIS GEOCENTRIC VIEW A MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATION" "THAT USED COMBINATIONS OF CIRCLES TO REPRESENT ORBITS." "WITH THIS NEW MODEL," "PTOLEMY COULD PREDICT WITH SOME CONFIDENCE" "THE FUTURE POSITIONS OF PLANETS." "BUT IT WAS COMPLEX." "THERE'S A WONDERFUL STORY" "ABOUT KING ALFONSO OF SPAIN IN THE 13TH CENTURY," "WHO WAS LOOKING OVER THE SHOULDERS OF HIS ASTRONOMERS," "WHO WERE MAKING TABLES FOR CALCULATING" "THE POSITIONS OF PLANETS." "AND ALFONSO IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE SAID," ""IF I HAD BEEN PRESENT AT CREATION," "I COULD HAVE GIVEN THE GOOD LORD SOME HINTS,"" "THE IDEA BEING THAT THE PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM" "WAS PRETTY COMPLICATED." "NEARLY 70 YEARS BEFORE GALILEO TURNED HIS TELESCOPE" "TO THE STARRY SKY," "NICOLAUS COPERNICUS CHALLENGED CONVENTIONAL BELIEFS" "BY SUGGESTING THAT PTOLEMY'S" "GEOCENTRIC MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE WAS WRONG." "I SUPPOSE THAT COPERNICUS WAS PLAYING AROUND" "WITH SOME GEOMETRY" "THAT PUT ALL THE PLANETS IN ORBIT AROUND THE SUN." "AND MERCURY, THE CLOSEST ONE, WENT AROUND IN 88 DAYS;" "VENUS, NEXT, A LITTLE LONGER." "THE EARTH WAS NEXT, 365 DAYS," "AND LETHARGIC SATURN WAY OUT AT THE EDGE OF THE SYSTEM." "AND COPERNICUS MUST HAVE BEEN GREATLY STRUCK" "BY THIS AESTHETIC ARRANGEMENT." "HE SAID, "IN NO OTHER WAY DO WE HAVE" ""SUCH A SURE HARMONIOUS CONNECTION" "BETWEEN THE SIZE OF AN ORBIT AND THE PLANET'S PERIOD."" "COPERNICUS WANTED TO CONSTRUCT A MODEL" "THAT WOULD BE, AS HE PUT IT, "MORE PLEASING TO THE MIND."" "A SUN-CENTERED COSMOS SEEMED SIMPLER AND MORE ELEGANT" "THAN THE EARTH-CENTERED MODEL." "IT WAS THE HEIGHT OF RIDICULOUSNESS." "COPERNICUS DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHYSICS FOR IT." "THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL PROOF" "OF THAT HELIOCENTRIC ARRANGEMENT." "BUT IT WAS A WONDERFUL AESTHETIC IDEA," "AND IT WAS RIGHT." "FROM OUR EARTHBOUND VIEW, THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS" "MOVE ACROSS THE SKY WHILE EARTH STANDS STILL." "SO COPERNICUS' MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE CONTRADICTED" "NOT ONLY THE SCIENCE OF THE DAY BUT ALSO COMMON SENSE." "MOST ASTRONOMERS IN THE GENERATIONS" "IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING 1543," "WHEN COPERNICUS PUBLISHED HIS GREAT MASTERPIECE," "THOUGHT OF THAT BOOK AS A RECIPE BOOK," "THE WAY YOU COULD CALCULATE THE POSITIONS OF PLANETS." "THEY DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT THIS HELIOCENTRIC IDEA," "WHICH SEEMED TO THEM SO ABSURD," "TO THROW THE EARTH INTO SUCH DIZZYING MOTION." "IN JANUARY 1610," "GALILEO'S OBRVATIONS OF THE PLANET JUPITER" "PROVIDED EVIDENCE THAT COPERNICUS' THEORY" "MAY BE ACCURATE." "THERE REMAINS THE MATTER," "WHICH, IN MY OPINION, NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED" "THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL," "THE DISCLOSURE OF FOUR PLANETS NEVER SEEN" "FROM THE CREATION OF THE WORLD UP TO OUR OWN TIME." "GALILEO IS REFERRING TO HIS OBSERVATIONS OF JUPITER." "AFTER A WEEK OF STUDYING THE LARGEST PLANET," "HE REALIZED THAT THE STARS HE SAW" "MUST BE MOS ORBITING THE PLANET." "HE ARGUED THAT IF JUPITER COULD HAVE MOONS IN ORBIT" "WHILE IT ORBITS THE SUN," "THEN EARTH COULD ALSO HAVE A MOON IN ORBIT" "AS THEY ALSO ORBIT THE SUN TOGETHER." "OUR OWN EYES SHOW US FOUR STARS" "WHICH WANDER AROUND JUPITER" "AS DOES THE MOON AROUND THE EARTH" "WHILE ALL TOGETHER TRACE OUT A GRAND REVOLUTION" "ABOUT THE SUN IN THE SPACE OF 12 YEARS." "HERE WE HAVE FINE AND ELEGANT ARGUMENT" "FOR THE COPERNICAN SYSTEM." "GALILEO ALSO DISCOVERED" "THAT VENUS GOES THROUGH PHASES MUCH LIKE OUR MOON," "CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS THAT SOLIDIFIED THE COPERNICAN MODEL." "BUT HIS OBSERVATIONS OF THE SUN POSED THE GREATEST CHALLENGE" "TO THE PREVAILING THEOLOGY." "GALILEO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST FOUR PEOPLE" "TO OBSERVE SUNSPOTS WITH A TELESCOPE." "AND AS HE OBSERVED THEM," "HE SAW THEM CARRIED ACROSS THE SOLAR DISK" "IN A REGULAR FASHION." "AND GALILEO CONCLUDED FROM THAT OBSERVATION" "THAT THE SUN ROTATES." "BUT OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE WERE THE PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS" "OF THE PRESENCE OF THESE BLEMISHES ON THE SUN," "MAKING THE SUN APPEAR LESS PERFECT" "OR EVEN AN IMPERFECT OBJECT." "A COMMON MISCONCEPTION" "IS THAT COPERNICUS DETHRONED EARTH" "FROM ITS PRIVILEGED PLACE IN THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE." "BUT THIS IS NOT HOW PEOPLE" "THOUGHT ABOUT THE COSMOS FIVE CENTURIES AGO." "THEY BELIEVED EARTH WAS THE UNIVERSE'S" "SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL LANDFILL." "REFLECTING THIS," "COPERNICUS' MOST DEVOTED STUDENT," "JOACHIM RHETICUS, WROTE," ""THE GLOBE OF THE EARTH HAS RISEN" "WHILE THE SUN HAS DESCENDED TO THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE."" "GALILEO'S OBSERVATIONS REINFORCED COPERNICUS'" "SUN-CENTERED HELIOCENTRIC MODEL" "AND DIRECTLY CHALLENGED THE BELIEFS" "OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH." "SO THIS WAS A TIME OF NEW IDEAS, NEW DISCOVERIES," "JOINED, OF COURSE, BY GALILEO AND HIS WORK WITH THE TELESCOPE." "THE PROBLEM WAS," "IT WAS THREATENING THE PHILOSOPHY" "THAT UNDERPINNED THE CHURCH'S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD." "AND THEN WE HAD THE PROTESTANTS TO THE NORTH" "AGAIN CHALLENGING THE CHURCH." "SO WHAT IT HAD TO DO WAS LOOK INTO ITSELF" "AND TRY AND FIND WHERE ITS REAL ANCHORS WERE." "GALILEO WENT TO ROME IN 1616," "GIVING LECTURES AND DEMONSTRATIONS" "OF THE COPERNICAN SYSTEM." "HE ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO PEER THROUGH HIS TELESCOPE" "AS HE EDUCATED THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE NEWLY REVEALED COSMOS." "THIS CAUSED POPE PAUL V TO REQUEST AN OFFICIAL JUDGMENT" "ABOUT THESE RADICAL IDEAS." "AFTER ALL, PSALM 104 SAYS," ""THE LORD GOD LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH" "THAT IT NOT BE MOVED FOREVER."" "AND THE CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS THOUGHT" "THAT RULED OUT A MOVING EARTH," "SOMETHING THAT WAS ESSENTIAL FOR THE COPERNICAN SYSTEM." "THE CHURCH CONCLUDED THE IDEA" "OF THE SUN STANDING STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HEAVENS" "WAS FOOLISH AND ABSURD IN PHILOSOPHY" "AND FORMALLY HERETICAL." "SO THE POPE'S LEADING THEOLOGICAL ADVISOR" "INSTRUCTED GALILEO TO CEASE PROMOTING THE SUN-CENTERED" "OVER THE EARTH-CENTERED SYSTEM." "FOR MANY YEARS, GALILEO OBEYED THIS ORDER." "WHEN IN 1623 HIS FRIEND MAFFEO BARBERINI" "BECAME POPE URBAN XIII," "GALILEO FELT HE COULD RETURN" "TO WRITING ABOUT THE COPERNICAN SYSTEM." "BUT IN HIS BOOK" "DIALOGUE CONCERNING THE TWO CHIEF WORLD SYSTEMS," "GALILEO WENT TOO FAR," "MOCKING THE PROHIBITION, THE CHURCH," "AND, INDIRECTLY, THE POPE." "INCENSED, THE POPE SUMMONED GALILEO TO ROME" "AND SUBJECTED HIM TO THE INQUISITION." "AFTER SOME TENSE NEGOTIATIONS," "GALILEO AGREED TO A PLEA BARGAIN." "HE CONFESSED THE ALLEGED ERRORS IN RETURN FOR HIS LIFE." "BEFORE A LARGE AUDIENCE, GALILEO WAS ORDERED" "TO READ A LONG STATEMENT WHICH CONTAINED THE WORDS," ""I ABJURE, CURSE, AND DETEST MY ERRORS AND HERESIES."" "GALILEO SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE UNDER HOUSE ARREST." "IT'S EASY," "FROM WHERE WE STAND IN THE 21ST CENTURY," "TO LOOK BACK AND SAY, "THESE PEOPLE WERE WRONG."" "YES, BUT THEY WEREN'T DUMB." "THEY JUST HAD TO GROW AN UNDERSTANDING" "OF THIS NEW SCIENCE." "AND WHAT WERE THE PROPER OBJECTS OF THIS SCIENCE AND ASTRONOMY," "AND WHAT WERE THE PROPER OBJECTS OF THEOLOGY" "AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD?" "WHILE THE CHURCH WOULD STRUGGLE FOR GENERATIONS" "WITH THE COPERNICAN MODEL," "ASTRONOMERS PROMPTLY SET TO WORK AT IMPROVING TELESCOPE DESIGN." "TELESCOPES LIKE GALILEO'S" "IMPROVED OUR VIEWS OF THE HEAVENS," "BUT THE LENSES HAD FUNDAMENTAL DEFECTS." "LIKE ALL TELESCOPES THAT USE A SINGLE LENS TO COLLECT LIGHT," "THESE INSTRUMENTS FOCUS LIGHT OF DIFFERENT COLORS" "TO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT POINTS." "THIS EFFECT PRODUCES A BLURRED IMAGE THAT GROWS WORSE" "AS THE LENS THICKENS." "ONE SOLUTION IS TO SHAPE THE LENS SO THAT THE TELESCOPE" "HAS A LONG FOCAL LENGTH," "CREATING TUBES UP TO SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET IN LENGTH." "A CENTURY AFTER GALILEO," "ASTRONOMERS FOUND A WAY TO CORRECT" "MUCH OF THE COLOR BLURRING" "WITHOUT HAVING TO CREATE ABSURDLY LONG TELESCOPES." "IN THE 1720s," "A GENTLEMAN WHO WAS A BARRISTER" "HE WAS A LEGAL TYPE RATHER THAN A SCIENTIST." "HIS NAME WAS CHESTER MOOR HALL, AND HE LIVED IN LONDON." "HE DID SOME EXPERIMENTS WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF GLASS" "THAT LED HIM TO BELIEVE THAT THERE ACTUALLY WAS A SOLUTION" "TO THIS PROBLEM, THAT YOU COULD COMBINE" "TWO SORTS OF GLASS TO MAKE A LENS" "THAT WOULD GIVE YOU AN IMAGE" "FREE FROM THESE PSYCHEDELIC COLORS." "HE ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED, AND HE MADE A LENS" "THAT WAS CAPABLE OF BEING TURNED INTO A TELESCOPE" "OF MUCH SHORTER LENGTH AND DELIVERING IMAGES" "THAT WERE PERFECTLY CRISP AND SHARP IN TERMS OF THE COLOR." "AND ASTRONOMY THEN" "TOOK A GIANT STEP FORWARD," "BECAUSE THE ACHROMATIC TELESCOPE BECAME THE INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE" "FOR ALL ASTRONOMERS." "THE ERA OF GREAT REFRACTING TELESCOPES" "REACHED ITS HIGH POINT AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY" "WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF TWO AMERICAN INSTRUMENTS." "THE TELESCOPES OF THE JIRKES AND LICK OBSERVATORIES" "REPRESENT THE BEST OF THE 19TH CENTURY." "BUT THE LENSES WERE SO HEAVY" "THAT THEY DEFORMED UNDER THEIR OWN WEIGHT IN SLIGHT WAYS" "THAT EVEN TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY CANNOT OVERCOME." "THIS LIMITED THE SHARPNESS OF IMAGES PRODUCED" "BY THESE TELESCOPES." "BUT A FEW HUNDRED YARDS FROM THE ENORMOUS TUBE" "AT LICK OBSERVATORY," "AN ENTIRELY NEW TYPE OF TELESCOPE EMBODIED A DESIGN" "INSPIRED BY ISAAC NEWTON." "60 YEARS AFTER GALILEO TURNED HIS FIRST TELESCOPE" "TOWARD THE HEAVENS," "NEWTON CONCEIVED A CLEVER METHOD" "TO COLLECT AND FOCUSIGHT IN TELESCOPE" "IN 1668, NEWTON DESIGNED AND BUILT A TELESCOPE" "BASED ON THIS PRINCIPLE." "NEWTON'S DESIGN CALLED FOR A CURVED METAL MIRROR" "THAT REFLECTED AND FOCUSED LIGHT ONTO A SMALL FLAT MIRROR," "WHICH IN TURN BOUNCED THE BEAM OF LIGHT" "ONTO A LENS AT THE SIDE OF THE TUBE." "THIS REFLECTING TELESCOPE DESIGN AVOIDS THE COLOR BLURRING" "CREATED IN EARLIER REFRACTING TELESCOPES." "NEWTON DIED IN 1727." "THE FOLLOWING CENTURY SAW TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS" "THAT ENABLED THE CONSTRUCTION" "OF INCREASINGLY BETTER REFLECTING TELESCOPES." "WHEN NEWTON MADE HIS FIRST REFLECTING TELESCOPE," "THE MATERIAL HE USED WAS A METAL ALLOY" "WHICH LATER BECAME KNOWN AS SPECULUM METAL." "ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES IS THAT IT TARNISHES," "SO OVER TIME, THAT SURFACE FADES IN ITS LUSTER," "AND YOU HAVE TO REPOLISH IT." "IN FACT, EVEN WHEN THESE THINGS ARE NEWLY POLISHED," "THEY STILL ONLY HAD A REFLECTING POWER OF ABOUT 30%." "AND IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 1850s THAT A FRENCHMAN" "WORKED OUT THAT AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF TACKLING THIS PROBLEM" "WOULD BE TO MAKE A MIRROR OF GLASS" "BUT THEN TO COAT IT WITH A THIN LAYER OF METAL," "IN FACT, SILVER," "AND BASICALLY GIVE YOU A SURFACE THAT WAS FAR MORE REFLECTIVE" "THAN THE OLD SPECULUM METAL SURFACES." "PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING" "IS AN INSTRUMENT THAT WAS MADE" "FOR A BRITISH AMATEUR ASTRONOMER" "WHOSE NAME WAS CROSSLEY," "WHICH WAS A PIONEERING TELESCOPE FOR THE THEN-NEW ART" "OF PHOTOGRAPHING THE HEAVENS." "THE NEXT MAJOR ADVANCE AFTER GALILEO," "IN MY VIEW, ANYWAY," "WAS THE INVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN 1839." "WHEN IT WAS INVENTED BY DAGUERRE," "IT WAS NOT SENSITIVE ENOUGH TO PHOTOGRAPH FAINT THINGS." "SO IT WAS LARGELY IGNORED BY THE ASTRONOMICAL COMMUNITY." "BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL DRAPER IN THE UNITED STATES" "AND ANSLEY COMMON IN ENGLAND" "FIRST STARTED TO PHOTOGRAPH FAINT THINGS" "THAT THEY REALIZED THAT IF YOU MAKE" "A LONG PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE, YOU CAN SEE STARS." "YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING" "THAT THE EYE IS COMPLETELY INCAPABLE OF SEEING." "AND FROM THAT POINT, ABOUT 1882, 1883," "THE EYE WAS DISPLACED FROM THE EYEPIECE OF THE TELESCOPE," "AND PHOTOGRAPHY HAD TRANSFORMED ITSELF FROM A RECORDER" "OF A SCENE THAT WE CAN SEE TO A DETECTOR OF THE UNSEEN." "IN FACT, IT'S MADE MODERN ASTRONOMY" "AND MODERN ASTROPHYSICS POSSIBLE." "THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE CROSSLEY REFLECTOR" "REVOLUTIONIZED ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH," "PAVING THE WAY FOR THE HOOKER 100-INCH" "AND EDWIN HUBBLE'S DISCOVERY OF THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE." "WHEN HUBBLE FOUND OUT THAT THE SPIRAL NEBULA" "DO NOT BELONG TO OUR MILKY WAY BUT ARE MUCH FARTHER AWAY," "IT BECAME CLEAR THAT OUR UNIVERSE IS MUCH LARGER" "THAN WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT." "IT WAS REALLY A REVOLUTIONARY DETECTION," "LIKE THE DETECTION BY COPERNICUS" "WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT THE EARTH" "IS NOT IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD" "BUT IS JUST A TINY PLANET ORBITING AROUND THE SUN," "THE SAME WAY NOW OUR MILKY WAY TURNED OUT TO BE" "JUST ONE OUT OF A BILLION OF GALAXIES" "EXISTING OF HUNDRED BILLIONS OF STARS." "BUT AN EVEN GREATER DISCOVERY LAY WITHIN HUBBLE'S GRASP," "HIDDEN WITHIN STARLIGHT." "TO REVEAL THAT INFORMATION," "ASTRONOMERS SPREAD STARLIGHT INTO ITS COMPONENT COLORS," "PRODUCING WHAT'S CALLED A SPECTRUM." "A STAR'S SPECTRUM IS REALLY A RAINBOW." "SO JUST AS WE CAN SEE THE RAINBOW" "FROM THE LIGHT OF THE SUN TRAVELING THROUGH" "THE RAINDROPS OF A STORM," "SO, TOO, IF WE TAKE THE LIGHT FROM A STAR" "AND PASS THAT THROUGH A GLASS PRISM," "THAT WILL SPLIT ITS LIGHT UP INTO THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS" "THAT WE CAN STUDY." "BY THE 1940s, PHOTOMETRY BEING TAKEN OVER BY ELECTRONICS." "BY THE 1950s, ELECTRONIC WAYS OF RECORDING SPECTRA WERE MADE," "BECAUSE NOT ONLY DO YOU RECORD IMAGE OF THE STARS," "BUT YOU CAN RECORD SPECTRA;" "YOU CAN RECORD THE LIGHT SPLIT UP INTO ITS INDIVIDUAL COLORS" "TO ANALYZE THEM." "A STAR SPECTRUM CONTAINS MANY SECRETS," "SUCH AS WHAT THE STAR'S MADE OF," "THE TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE THAT EXIST WITHIN ITS LAYERS," "AND HOW FAST IT'S ROTATING." "WHEN ASTRONOMERS STUDY THE COMBINED LIGHT" "FROM BILLONS OF STARS IN A GALAXY," "A SHIFT" "TOWARDS THE RED END OF ITS SPECTRUM." "THE RED SHIFT OF A GALAXY," "WHICH IS RELATED TO HOW QUICKLY IT'S MOVING AWAY FROM US," "IS QUITE EASY TO MEASURE." "YOU JUST GET A SPECTRUM OF THE GALAXY," "AND YOU FIND PATTERNS" "OF ABSORPTION AND EMISSION LINES THAT YOU RECOGNIZE." "NOW, YOU MEASURE THE WAVELENGTHS" "OF THOSE ABSORPTION AND EMISSION LINES," "AND THAT THEN GIVES YOU THE RED SHIFT." "THE SPECTRA OF HUNDREDS OF GALAXIES REVEALED" "THAT ALMOST ALL OF THEM ARE MOVING AWAY FROM US." "WHEN EDWIN HUBBLE COMPARED THESE SPECTRA" "WITH THE GALAXIES' DISTANCES FROM US," "HE DISCOVERED THAT THE FARTHER GALAXIES" "ARE RECEDING MORE RAPIDLY THAN THOSE NEARBY." "IMAGINE AS A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT" "THAT I'VE GOT A BUNCH OF GALAXIES ATTACHED" "TO A RUBBER BAND" "AND THE RUBBER IS THE SPACE STRETCHING BETWEEN THEM." "AND LET'S SUPPOSE WE'RE IN THAT YELLOW ONE RIGHT THERE." "AS WE EXPAND THE UNIVERSE," "IT'S TRUE THAT ALL THE OTHER GALAXIES ARE MOVING AWAY" "FROM THE YELLOW ONE," "SO IT MIGHT THINK IT'S THE CENTER." "BUT THE SAME CAN BE SAID IF YOU WERE TO PUT YOURSELF" "IN ANY OTHER GALAXY." "THEY ALL SEE THAT THE OTHER GALAXIES" "ARE MOVING AWAY FROM THEM." "SO IN FACT, THERE IS NO UNIQUE CENTER TO THE UNIVERSE." "ALL THE GALAXIES THINK THAT THEY'RE AT THE CENTER." "NOW, ONE CAN ALSO SEE" "FROM THIS STRETCHING, ONE-DIMENSIONAL," "HYPOTHETICAL UNIVERSE" "THAT THE MORE DISTANT A GALAXY IS FROM ANOTHER GALAXY," "THE FASTER IT'LL RECEDE AWAY." "NOW, THAT'S BECAUSE EVERY LITTLE BIT OF SPACE IS STRETCHING." "AND THE MORE SPACE THERE IS BETWEEN TWO GALAXIES," "THE FASTER THEY WILL RECEDE FROM ONE ANOTHER." "THIS IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT HUBBLE OBSERVED." "HE FOUND THAT THE MORE DISTANT GALAXIES" "ARE MOVING AWAY FROM US FASTER THAN THE NEARBY ONES." "IT'S A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF A UNIFORMLY EXPANDING SPACE." "EVERY LITTLE BIT OF SPACE EXPANDS." "SO THE GREATER THE AMOUNT OF SPACE BETWEEN TWO GALAXIES," "THE FASTER THEY WILL RECEDE FROM ONE ANOTHER." "HUBBLE'S DISCOVERIES," "MADE POSSIBLE BY THE INCREASED LIGHT-GATHERING POWER" "OF HIS INSTRUMENT," "DROVE ASTRONOMERS TO BUILD AN EVEN LARGER TELESCOPE." "THE PALOMAR OBSERVATORY'S 200-INCH MIRROR" "COMES CLOSE TO THE UPPER LIMIT FOR A RIGID MIRROR" "THAT DOES NOT DEFORM UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT." "WITHOUT A SENSIBLE AND COST-EFFECTIVE WAY" "TO SUPPORT A MUCH LARGER MIRROR," "THIS FIVE-METER TELESCOPE REIGNED" "AS THE WORLD'S LARGEST FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES." "THE DAWN OF THE DIGITAL AGE" "AND THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES" "WOULD RADICALLY CHANGE THE DESIGN OF LARGE MIRRORS" "AND THEIR SUPPORTING STRUCTURES." "SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE" "IS A FRESHLY MINTED TELESCOPE MIRROR." "IT'S ON THE FURNACE." "IT WAS MADE BY SPINNING HOT GLASS IN A POT," "AND YOU SPIN IT," "AND THAT MAKES THE DISH SURFACE ON THE GLASS." "WHAT WE DO IN THE FURNACE HERE, WE TAKE THE POT." "WE PUT A LOT OF BLOCKS IN IT." "AND WHEN THE GLASS MELTS, IT RUNS AROUND THESE BLOCKS." "AND THEN WHEN IT'S SET, AS IT IS NOW," "THE NEXT STEP IS TO GET ALL THOSE BLOCKS" "OUT OF THE GLASS." "THAT LEAVES A VERY LIGHTWEIGHT INTERNAL HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE." "SO IF WE'D MADE THIS THING SOLID," "IT WOULD WEIGH ABOUT A HUNDRED TONS." "BUT BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY 80% VOIDS, RIGHT," "IT ACTUALLY WEIGHS 20 TONS." "ROGER ANGEL AND HIS GRADUATE STUDENT JOHN HILL" "DEVELOPED THIS REVOLUTIONARY METHOD OF SPIN CASTING MIRRORS" "MORE THAN 25 YEARS AGO" "HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA MIRROR LAB." "THIS METHOD OF EMPLOYING" "A HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE FOR SUPPORT" "ALSO PROVIDES A SECOND ADVANTAGE." "BUT THE MAIN THING IS," "IF YOU MAKE IT LIGHTWEIGHT AND HONEYCOMB," "YOU CAN AIR-CONDITION IT BY BLOWING AIR INSIDE." "AND THE REASON WE DO THAT IS THAT" "IF A MIRROR, DURING THE NIGHT," "IF IT'S WARMER THAN THE AIR," "THEN THERE'S HEAT COMING OFF THE MIRROR," "AND THAT SPOILS THE IMAGE." "BUT IF YOU CAN MAKE THE GLASS, THE REFLECTING FRONT SURFACE," "BE EXACTLY THE SAME TEMPERATURE AS THE NIGHT AIR," "THEN THERE'S NO HEAT RISING UP THE MIRROR" "AND NO DISTORTION OF THE IMAGE." "BEHIND THESE EIGHT-METER MIRROR SURFACES" "ARE COMPUTER-CONTROLLED ACTUATORS" "THAT PUSH OR PULL ON THE MIRROR TO HOLD ITS PRECISE SHAPE" "AS THE TELESCOPE MOVES." "THOSE SAME COMPUTERS ALLOW THE TELESCOPES TO BE MOUNTED" "ON WHAT'S CALLED AN ALTAZIMUTH DRIVE SYSTEM" "THAT AVOIDS THE MASSIVE POLAR MOUNTINGS" "LIKE THAT USED FOR THE PALOMAR TELESCOPE." "THIS GREATLY REDUCES THE OVERALL SIZE OF THE TELESCOPE MOUNTING" "AND OF THE ENTIRE OBSERVATORY BUILDING." "A SECOND APPROACH TO MAKING LARGE MIRRORS APPEARED" "IN THE 1980s." "ENGINEERS AND ASTRONOMERS AT CAL TECH" "AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SYSTEM" "CREATED A 10-METER-WIDE MIRROR FROM 36 HEXAGONAL SEGMENTS." "MULTIPLE ACTUATORS BEHIND EACH SEGMENT" "MAINTAIN THE DESIRED SHAPE OF THE 10-METER MIRROR," "COMPENSATING FOR ANY TENDENCY TO DEFORM" "AS THE TELESCOPE MOVES." "THE RESULTS FROM THIS MULTI-MIRROR DESIGN" "ARE THE TWIN 10-METER TELESCOPES OF W.M. KECK OBSERVATORY" "AND THE SIMILARLY DESIGNED GRAN CANARY TELESCOPE," "WHICH NOW REIGN AS THE LARGEST" "VISIBLE LIGHT TELESCOPES EVER BUILT." "BOTH OF THESE OBSERVATORIES ARE LOCATED FROM FROM CITY LIGHTS," "HIGH ATOP MOUNTAINOUS ISLANDS" "WHERE THE AIR IS CLEAR, DRY, AND STEADY." "THE KECK OBSERVATORY IS ONE OF MANY THAT OPERATE ON MAUNA KEA," "THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE PACIFIC BASIN." "THE 14,000-FOOT SUMMIT OF THIS HAWAIIAN ISLAND" "HOSTS 13 OBSERVATOES," "SEVERAL OF WHICH ARE INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS." "WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND HERE ON MAUNA KEA," "WHAT YOU SEE IS A SCIENTIFIC INVESTMENT" "OF A BILLION DOLLARS." "MANY, MANY COUNTRIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD" "HAVE COME HERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PRISTINE SKY" "TO DO ASTRONOMY." "ONE OF THE ADVANCES IN TELESCOPE DESIGN" "UNDER WAY ON MAUNA KEA" "BORROWS A TECHNOLOGY COMMON TO RADIO ASTRONOMY," "INTERFEROMETRY." "BY COMBINING THE LIGHT FROM THE TWIN KECK TELESCOPES" "SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER BY 80 METERS," "ASTRONOMERS ARE TRYING TO CREATE THE ABILITY TO SEE FINE DETAIL" "THAT THEY WOULD GET FROM A SINGLE 80-METER TELESCOPE." "IN CHILE, ASTRONOMERS AT THE EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY" "AT PARANAL ARE ALSO USING INTERFEROMETRY" "TO COMBINE THE LIGHT BEAMS FROM FOUR 8-METER TELESCOPES." "AND STILL ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATORY," "THE LARGE BINOCULAR TELESCOPE IN ARIZONA," "WILL COMBINE THE LIGHT COLLECTED BY ITS TWO 8.4-METER MIRRORS." "OUTSIDE OF THE RADIO WAVE PART OF THE SPECTRUM," "INTERFEROMETERS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR" "ONLY IN THE INFRARED." "FUTURE SUCCESSES IN THE VISIBLE LIGHT WAVELENGTHS" "WILL SURELY EXPOSE HIDDEN DETAILS OF OUR UNIVERSE." "THE RESEARCH TECHNIQUE" "OF REPEATED AND CAREFUL OBSERVATIONS" "FORMS THE BASIS OF SEVERAL ALL-SKY SURVEYS." "TWO PROGRESSIVE PROJECTS BUILT ON UNIQUE TELESCOPE TECHNOLOGY" "ARE THE LARGE SYNOPTIC SURVEY TELESCOPE" "AND THE PANORAMIC SURVEY TELESCOPE" "AND RAPID RESPONSE SYSTEM." "OUR OBJECT IN BUILDING LSST" "IS TO BUILD THE UBER IMAGING SURVEY," "ALL RIGHT, TO CAPTURE THE SKY, THE ENTIRE SKY," "AS FREQUENTLY AND AS DEEPLY AS POSSIBLY INTO A DATABASE." "NOW YOU'VE GOT TEN YEARS OF SKY," "THE GREATEST MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE, IN A COMPUTER." "AND NOW YOU CAN OBSERVE IT" "JUST LIKE YOU OBSERVE VIRTUAL REALITY." "YOU CAN TRY DIFFERENT WAYS OF LOOKING AT IT." "YOU CAN MOVE THROUGH IT, VISUALIZE IT." "THEN YOU CAN GO BACK TO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN." "THIS ENORMOUS DATABASE WILL BE AVAILABLE" "NOT ONLY TO ASTRONOMERS BUT ALSO TO THE WORLD AT LARGE," "ALLOWING EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU," "TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON HOME COMPUTERS." "ONE OF THE WAYS LSST WILL ADVANCE SCIENCE" "IS NOT JUST IN ASTRONOMY" "BUT IN BRINGING THE SCIENCE BEFORE THE PUBLIC," "HELPING THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THE COSMOS THEY LIVE IN." "EVEN IF ALL THE ASTRONOMERS IN THE WORLD" "WERE TO WORK NONSTOP ON THIS DATA," "WE'D ONLY SCRATCH THE SURFACE." "THERE'S SO MUCH CONTENT IN THE DATA." "SO BRINGING THIS DATA OUT TO THE PUBLIC," "LETTING THE PUBLIC LOOK AT IT," "LETTING KIDS FIRE THEIR IMAGINATIONS" "BY BEING ABLE TO ZOOM THROUGH IT IN SOME WAY ON THE COMPUTER" "OR USE IT IN CLASSROOM WORK," "THIS IS A WAY IN WHICH LSST WILL HELP PROMOTE SCIENCE" "AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURAL WORLD." "EVEN THE ARTS, ONE COULD EASILY IMAGINE" "AN ARTIST USING THIS RICH FUND OF DATA" "TO CREATE A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT THE UNIVERSE" "THAT SCIENTISTS JUST WOULDN'T COME UP WITH." "THE PAN-STARRS SURVEY WILL USE" "A UNIQUE FOUR-IN-ONE TELESCOPE DESIGN" "WITH FOUR 1.4 BILLION-PIXEL DIGITAL CAMERAS." "PAN-STARRS IS A NEW PROJECT BY THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII," "AND WE WANT TO USE ONE OF THE TELESCOPES THAT YOU SEE" "IN THE BACKGROUND, OUR OLD 88-INCH TELESCOPE," "FOR THIS PROJECT." "WE WANT TO BUILD A NEW SYSTEM OF TELESCOPES." "AND THESE TELESCOPES HAVE THE GOAL" "TO DETECT EVERY OBJECT WHICH IS VARIABLE IN THE UNIVERSE." ""VARIABLE" MEANS VARIABLE IN BRIGHTNESS" "OR VARIABLE IN POSITION." "AN ONGOING SURVEY OF THE SKY MAY PROVE TO HAVE" "MORE THAN A SCIENTIFIC PAYOFF." "NOT EVERYTHING THAT ASTRONOMERS STUDY" "REMAINS FOREVER DISTANT FROM EARTH." "YOU MAY KNOW THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL" "THAT THE EARTH WILL BE HIT BY A KILLER ASTEROID." "THE PROBABILITY THAT YOU DIE BY A KILLER ASTEROID IMPACT" "IS COMPARABLE TO THE PROBABILITY" "THAT YOU DIE IN AN AIRPLANE CRASH." "SO IT'S SIGNIFICANT." "YOU REALLY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS." "WITH PAN-STARRS," "WE WILL BE ABLE TO DETECT SUCH KILLER ASTEROIDS 30 YEARS BEFORE THEY IMPACT." "THAT WILL GIVE MANKIND" "AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT" "AND TO AVOID SUCH AN IMPACT BY A KILLER ASTEROID." "ALTHOUGH THE THIN AIR AT THESE HIGH-ALTITUDE OBSERVATORIES" "MAY SEEM PERFECTLY TRANSPARENT," "ASTRONOMERS KNOW THAT THIS IS A GLORIOUS ILLUSION." "REMEMBER THE NURSERY RHYME TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR?" "EVEN IN A REALLY CLEAR NIGHT," "THERE ARE STILL PROBLEMS FOR ASTRONOMERS," "BECAUSE TURBULENCE IN THE AIR BLURS IMAGES FOR THE ASTRONOMER." "TURBULENCE IS DUE TO WINDS IN THE ATMOSPHERE." "AND PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME." "EVEN ISAAC NEWTON WAS VERY AWARE THAT ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE" "WAS A PROBLEM." "ASTRONOMERS CAN NOW CANCEL THE EFFECTS" "OF ATMOSPHERIC BLURRING" "WITH A TECHNIQUE CALLED ADAPTIVE OPTICS." "IF THEY FIND A BRIGHT REFERENCE STAR" "IN THE TELESCOPE'S FIELD OF VIEW," "THE ADAPTIVE OPTICS SYSTEM CAN CONSTANTLY MEASURE" "THE TWINKLING OF THIS STAR" "AND REMOVE THE BLURRING IN REAL TIME." "BY USING A SMALL, RAPIDLY DEFORMABLE MIRROR" "THAT DELIVERS A SHARP, CORRECTED IMAGE TO THE DETECTOR." "THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT BRIGHT STARS" "ARE NOT ALWAYS SITTING NEXT TO YOUR OBJECT OF INTEREST." "SO ASTRONOMERS HAVE CREATED THEIR OWN REFERENCE STARS." "WE CAN USE LASERS TO MAKE WHAT WE CALL AN ARTIFICIAL STAR" "IF THERE'S NOT A BRIGHT REAL STAR IN THE FIELD OF VIEW." "AND THE REASON WE CAN DO THIS IS BECAUSE" "HIGH IN THE ATMOSPHERE, AT 100 KILOMETERS' ALTITUDE," "THERE ARE A LOT OF SODIUM ATOMS" "THAT COME FROM LITTLE MICROMETEORITES" "BURNING UP AS THEY FALL INTO THE ATMOSPHERE." "SO WE SHINE A YELLOW-WHITE LASER INTO THE ATMOSPHERE" "THAT SODIUM ATOMS RERADIATE THE LIGHT." "AND THAT WAY, WE CAN MAKE AN ARTIFICIAL STAR" "ANYWHERE IN THE SKY." "ASTRONOMERS WILL SOON USE THE ADAPTIVE OPTICS CAPABILITY" "OF A NEW INSTRUMENT," "THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SOLAR TELESCOPE," "TO STUDY RAPID CHANGES IN THE SUN'S TURBULENT SURFACE." "THE ATST WILL LOOK LIKE A NIGHTTIME TELESCOPE." "IT WILL HAVE A DIAMETER OF FOUR METERS." "AND WITH THAT SIZE OF APERTURE," "IT COULD RESOLVE ALL THE DYNAMIC PHENOMENA IN THE SUN" "IN THE SPECTRAL DOMAIN, THE SPATIAL DOMAIN," "AND THE TEMPORAL DOMAIN," "TO DISCOVER THE ORIGINS OF THE SOLAR CYCLE," "THE CAUSES OF THE VARIABLE BRIGHTNESS OF THE SUN," "AND THE ORIGINS OF EXPLOSIVE FLARE EVENTS" "ON THE SUN" "THAT CAN AFFECT HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON THE EARTH" "AND ALSO ON OUR NEAR EARTH SPACE ENVIRONMENT." "BUT THE SUNSPOT CYCLE REVEALS JUST ONE ASPECT" "OF THE GREAT MYSTERY" "OF THE SUN'S MAGNETIC ENVIRONNT." "ASTRONOMERS STILL DON'T KNOW" "HOW THESE EVER-CHANGING MAGNETIC FIELDS" "AFFECT THE SUN'S TOTAL ENERGY OUTPUT." "RESEARCH IN THIS AREA IS CRUCIAL TO HOW WE MODEL GLOBAL WARMING" "HERE ON EARTH." "AMONG ALL THE CELESTIAL OBJECTS THAT WE OBSERVE," "THE SUN IS CERTAINLY" "THE MOST IMPORTANT ASTRONOMICAL OBJECT TO ALL OF HANKIND." "THE SUN SUPPLIES THE ENERGY THAT SUSTAINS ALL LIFE ON EARTH" "AND THE ENERGY THAT DRIVES THE CLIMATE OF THE EARTH." "AND SO IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND" "ALL ASPECTS OF THE VARIABILITY OF THE SUN." "ASTRONOMERS KNOW THAT THE ONLY WAY" "TO REMOVE ALL THE DIFFICULTIES IMPOSED BY OUR ATMOSPHERE" "IS TO SEND TELESCOPES INTO SPACE." "A SPACEBORNE TELESCOPE CAN NOT ONLY AVOID" "THE BLURRING EFFECTS OF OUR ATMOSPHERE" "BUT CAN ALSO OBSERVE BANDS OF LIGHT" "THAT DO NOT REACH EARTH'S SURFACE." "EVEN A SMALL SPACE-BASED INSTRUMENT" "WILL SURPASS THE RESOLVING POWER OF THE GRAN CANARAY TELESCOPE." "THROUGHOUT THE 1970s AND '80s," "ASTRONOMERS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS" "SET THE STAGE FOR A NEW ERA IN OPTICAL ASTRONOMY:" "THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE." "TO TAKE ADVANTAGE" "OF THE REALLY EXQUISITE RESOLUTION OFFERED BY SPACE," "WHERE THERE'S NOT ATMOSPHERE," "THE ENGINEERS HAD TO DO THINGS THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE" "AND HAVE NEVER BEEN DONE SINCE." "THE TELESCOPE, WHEN IT'S IN ORBIT," "IS GOING AROUND AT 17,000 MILES AN HOUR," "I MEAN, JUST AN UNIMAGINABLY RAPID SPEED FOR US." "AND YET YOU HAVE TO POINT THAT TELESCOPE ANYWHERE IN THE SKY," "AND YOU HAVE TO STABILIZE IT TO A FEW MILLISECONDS OF ARC." "SO WHAT THEY DID IS," "THEY INVENTED A SERIES OF GYROSCOPES" "THAT WERE INCREDIBLY PRECISE" "THAT ALLOWED THEM TO SLEW THE TELESCOPE" "TO A SPOT ON THE SKY" "AND GET IT CLOSE ENOUGH TO WHERE THEY WANT IT" "THAT THEY COULD THEN PICK UP STARS." "AND USING A ST CATALOG," "THEY COULD HONE IN ON EXACTLY THE RIGHT SPOT." "AND THEN WITH A STAR TRACKER," "THEY COULD STABILIZE THE TELESCOPE" "WHILE IT WAS GOING AROUND THE EARTH AT ORBITAL SPEEDS." "COMPLETED IN THE 1980s," "THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SPENT YEARS IN STORAGE" "AFTER THE TRAGIC LOSS" "OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER AND ITS CREW." "FINALLY IN 1990," "THEY STARTED LAUNCHING SHUTTLES AGAIN." "AND THEY WERE ABLE TO LAUNCH HUBBLE," "AND IT WAS JUST A FANTASTIC THING." "HUBBLE WEIGHS ABOUT 25,000 POUNDS," "AND IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF A SCHOOL BUS." "AND LIFTOFF OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY" "WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, OUR WINDOW ON THE UNIVERSE." "ONCE IN ORBIT, THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SOON REVEALED" "A FLAW THAT THREATENED" "THE ENTIRE $2 BILLION INVESTMENT." "WHEN THEY LOOKED AT THE FIRST IMAGE," "THEY FOUND THAT THIS MIRROR," "WHICH INCIDENTALLY HAD BEEN POLISHED" "TO THE MOST PERFECT FIGURE OF ANY MIRROR IN HUMAN HISTORY" "HAD BEEN POLISHED TO THE WRONG SHAPE." "AND ALL OF THE CAMERAS AND OPTICS BEHIND IT" "WERE DESIGNED TO WORK WITH THE CORRECT SHAPE." "SO THE IMAGES WERE BLURRY." "IN FACT, THE IMAGES WEREN'T MUCH BETTER" "THAN WHAT YOU GOT FROM A GROUND-BASED TELESCOPE." "THEY WERE JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE STABLE." "AND SO THIS WAS SCIENTIFICALLY DEVASTATING." "AND JUST AS BAD, IT WAS, POLITICALLY, A DISASTER." "AS SOON AS NASA UNDERSTOOD THE PROBLEM," "THEY DEVELOPED A SOLUTION." "ALTHOUGH THE TELESCOPE'S DESIGNERS HAD NOT ANTICIPATED" "A REPAIR OF THE OPTICS IN SPACE," "ASTRONAUTS SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED AN ARRAY" "OR CORRECTIVE MIRRORS." "I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THAT ERA," "AND QUITE A FEW OF THEM DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD WORK." "IT'S JUST SO COMPLICATED." "IT WAS THE MOST COMPLICATED SPACE CHOREOGRAPHY" "THAT HAD EVERY BEEN DONE." "YOU KIND OF HAD TO BELIEVE IN FIVE MIRACLES" "AND TWO TOOTH FAIRIES" "TO GIVE IT ANY REASONABLE CHANCE OF SUCCESS." "AND YET, WHEN THEY GOT BACK DOWN FROM SPACE," "OPENED THE LID ON THE TELESCOPE, TOOK THOSE FIRST IMAGES," "THEY REALIZED ALL THE PROBLEMS HAD DISAPPEARED." "ADDITIONAL REPAIRS AND UPGRADES HAVE EXTENDED" "THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE'S MISSION" "FAR BEYOND ITS PLANNED OPERATIONAL LIFE." "EVERY TIME THEY WENT UP AND DID A SERVICING MISSION," "THEY PUT NEW INSTRUMENTS ON THE TELESCOPE." "AND THESE INSTRUMENTS IMPROVED THE ABILITY OF THE TELESCOPE" "TO OBSERVE BY FACTORS OF 10 TO AS MUCH AS 100 TIMES" "COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS." "SO EACH SERVICING MISSION GAVE US A WHOLE NEW OBSERVATORY." "AND THAT'S WHY HUBBLE HAS REMAINED" "SO SCIENTIFICALLY PRODUCTIVE," "AND THAT'S WHY IT'S REMAINED SO POPULAR." "IMAGES FROM HUBBLE HAVE BECOME COSMIC ICONS," "COLORFUL SYMBOLS OF OUR ABILITY TO OBSERVE THE COSMOS," "FREE FROM ATMOSPHERIC INTERFERENCE." "EACH SCENE EXPOSES THE TAPESTRY OF THE UNIVERSE," "THE DYNAMIC INTERPLAY OF MATTER AND ENERGY" "THAT PAINTS OUR VIEW OF THE HEAVENS." "AFTER THE SERVICING MISSION IN 1996," "MY PREDECESSOR, ROBERT WILLIAMS," "HAD A TREMENDOUSLY FARSIGHTED VISION FOR ASTRONOMY." "HE SAID, "LOOK, THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPE IN HISTORY." ""WHY DON'T WE POINT IT" ""AT THE BLANKEST, DARKEST SPOT IN THE SKY WE CAN SEE" ""AND EXPOSE IT FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN STAND" "AND TAKE THE DEEPEST IMAGE EVER OF THE UNIVERSE?"" "AND BY DOING THAT," "HE CREATED THE HUBBLE DEEP FIELD," "A FIELD THAT WE STILL USE FOR STUDY TODAY." "I DID THE SAME THING AFTER THE 2002 SERVICING MISSION" "AND CREATED THE HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD." "AND THESE FIELDS REVEALED THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE" "THAT HAD NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE" "AND NO GROUND-BASED TELESCOPE CAN TOUCH." "DURING THE 1990s, AS ASTRONOMERS COMBINED HUBBLE OBSERVATIONS" "WITH THOSE FROM GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES," "THEY MADE A STUNNING DISCOVERY." "ASTRONOMERS WANTED TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE" "HAD BEEN SLOWING DOWN SINCE THE BIG BANG." "TO DO THIS, THEY OBSERVED SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS" "AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES, AND THEREFORE," "AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN THE DISTANT PAST." "BY COMPARING THE RED SHIFTS AND DISTANCES" "OF THESE SUPERNOVAE," "THE ASTRONOMERS COULD CALCULATE THE RATE AT WHICH THE UNIVERSE" "IS SLOWING DOWN." "THE RESULTS, HOWEVER, WERE SO ODD" "THAT AT FIRST THE SCIENTISTS REFUSED TO BELIEVE THEM." "IN 1997, THE ASSUMPTION WAS THAT THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE" "WOULD BE SLOWING." "ALL THE MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE AND ITS ATTRACTIVE GRAVITY" "SHOULD PULL BACK ON THE UNIVERSE AND TEND TO SLOW THE EXPANSION." "SO OUR TEAM HAD COLLECTED A LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA" "OF THESE DISTANT SUPERNOVAE" "TO ACTUALLY ALLOW US TO MEASURE THE SLOWING OF THE EXPANSION." "AND I WAS LEADING A STUDY" "OF THE FIRST LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA THAT WE HAD COLLECTED." "AND I WAS WRITING A COMPUTER PROGRAM TO TELL ME," "OKAY, SO IF THE UNIVERSE IS SLOWING IN ITS EXPANSION," "TELL ME HOW HEAVY IT IS." "TELL ME HOW MUCH MASS IS SLOWING THE EXPANSION." "AND WHAT I SAW WAS REALLY SHOCKING." "IT WASN'T SLOWING DOWN AT ALL." "MY COMPUTER PROGRAM WAS TELLING ME THAT THE UNIVERSE" "WAS ACTING LIKE IT HAD A NEGATIVE MASS." "AND THE ONLY WAY THAT COULD HAPPEN" "IS IF THE EXPANSION RATE WASN'T SLOWING DOWN;" "IT WAS ACTUALLY SPEEDING UP." "AND THAT'S WHEN I HAD THE FIRST CLUE" "THAT SOMETHING REALLY INTERESTING WAS GOING ON." "WELL, MY JAW JUST DROPPED." "I THOUGHT THIS RESULT HAD TO BE WRONG." "EITHER THE MEASUREMENTS WERE WRONG" "OR THE CALCULATIONS OR SOMETHING." "SO I SAID, "ADAM, GO RECHECK THESE RESULTS."" "AND HE CHECKED, AND HE COULDN'T FIND AN ERROR." "AND OTHER PEOPLE CHECKED THE RESULTS ON OUR TEAM," "AND THEY COULDN'T FIND AN ERROR EITHER." "THE UNIVERSE WAS SPEEDING UP IN ITS EXPANSION WITH TIME," "AND THIS WAS JUST COMPLETELY CONTRARY" "TO WHAT WE HAD EXPECTED." "INITIALLY, PEOPLE WERE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE RESULT," "AND WE WERE SKEPTICAL AS WELL." "BUT YOU HAD TWO DIFFERENT TEAMS THAT HAD DONE" "MUCH THE SAME EXPERIMENT BUT INDEPENDENTLY" "AND HAD COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION." "SO THIS WAS VERY EXCITING," "BECAUSE IT MEANT THAT PEOPLE WERE FREE" "TO THINK ABOUT THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THE EXPERIMENT" "AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE DETAILS" "BECAUSE THEY COULD TRUST THAT THOSE HAD BEEN DONE RIGHT." "AND OVER TIME, WE FOUND THAT NOBODY" "COULD REALLY THINK OF REALLY ANOTHER PLAUSIBLE INTERPRETATION" "OTHER THAN THAT THE EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE WAS SPEEDING UP." "WHAT COULD PRODUCE SUCH AN AMAZING EFFECT?" "THE ANSWER APPEARS TO RESIDE IN A COSMIC HYPOTHESIS" "FIRST SUGGESTED BY ALBERT EINSTEIN" "BUT NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY." "SHORTLY AFTER EINSTEIN HAD DEVELOPED" "HIS GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY," "THERE WAS A PROBLEM." "AND IT WAS THE SAME PROBLEM NEWTON WOULD HAVE HAD, IN FACT," "BECAUSE AS ANY STUDENT OF PHYSICS KNOWS," "GRAVITY SUCKS." "IT ALWAYS PULLS." "IT NEVER PUSHES." "NOW, WHEN EINSTEIN DEVELOPED GENERAL RELATIVITY," "HE THOUGHT THE UNIVERSE WAS STATIC." "SO DID ALL SCIENTISTS." "AND THAT MEANS THAT GRAVITY WOULD NOT WORK," "BECAUSE THE WHOLE UNIVERSE WOULD COLLAPSE INWARD." "BUT HE REALIZED THAT HE COULD ADD AN EXTRA TERM" "TO HIS EQUATIONS" "WHICH HE CALLED THE COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT," "WHICH WOULD PRODUCE A SMALL REPULSIVE FORCE" "THROUGHOUT ALL OF EMPTY SPACE." "AND IT COULD BE SO SMALL" "THAT YOU WOULDN'T MEASURE IT HERE ON EARTH" "OR IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM," "BUT IT COULD BUILD UP AND HOLD THE STARS AND GALAXIES APART." "BY INTRODUCING THIS ADDITIONAL TERM INTO HIS EQUATIONS," "EINSTEIN CREATED" "A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF A STATIC UNIVERSE" "THAT NEITHER EXPANDED NOR CONTRACTED." "THE ENTITY THAT MAKES THE UNIVERSE ACCELERATE" "IS NOW CALLED DARK ENERGY." "DARK ENERGY DOMINATES ALL OTHER FORMS" "OF ENERGY AND MATTER IN THE UVERSE." "ASTROPHYSICISTS CALCULATE THAT ALL THE BARYONIC MATTER," "THE STUFF THAT MAKES UP ALL OF US, ALL OF THE EARTH," "AND ALL THE STARS AND GALAXIES" "EQUALS A SMALL FRACTION OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE." "UNDERSTANDING WHY THE UNIVERSE CONTAINS SO MUCH DARK ENERGY" "PRESENTS SCIENTISTS WITH A CHALLENGE" "THAT MAY SPREAD ACROSS MANY LIFETIMES." "OTHERS BOLDLY SUGGEST" "THAT WE ARE MISINTERPRETING THE OBSERVATIONS." "WELL, THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS" "IN WHICH YOU CAN EXPLAIN THIS OBSERVED ACCELERATION." "YOU CAN EITHER ADD DARK ENERGY," "WHICH IS A PRETTY EXCITING POSSIBILITY, IN A SENSE," "BECAUSE WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DARK ENERGY IS." "WHATEVER IT TURNS OUT, IT'S GONNA CHANGE PHYSICS." "OR MAYBE ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS THAT EINSTEIN'S GRAVITY," "HIS THEORY OF GRAVITY, IS ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY WRONG," "WHICH WILL ALSO BE EXTREMELY EXCITING." "SO WHATEVER HAPPENS AND WHATEVER MORE WE FIND OUT," "IT WILL CHANGE PHYSICS IN A LASTING WAY." "MODERN COSMOLOGY IS ENTIRELY BASED" "ON THE EXISTENCE OF DARK MATTER AND DARK ENERGY." "FOR INSTANCE, WE WERE ALL TOLD," "THE ONLY THING EXPANSION COULD DO WAS TO SLOW DOWN." "AND THEN WHEN EVENTUALLY WE SUCCEEDED IN MEASURING IT," "WE FOUND IT WASN'T." "AND NEVERTHELESS, WE PRETEND WE UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE." "JUST AS COPERNICUS AND GALILEO CHANGED THE WAY WE VIEW" "THE MOTIONS OF THE PLANETS AND THE STARS," "TO PROVIDE A CORRECT MODEL OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM," "ASTROPHYSICISTS MAY SOON MAKE AN OERVATION" "THAT CHALLENGES OUR CURRENT MODEL OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE." "IN MY OPINION, WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF A REVOLUTION" "WHERE WE WILL HAVE TREARRANGE ALL THE INFORMATION" "AND PROVIDE A NEW VISION OF THE UNIVERSE." "TO DO THIS, WE NEED A LARGE TELESCOPE LIKE," "FOR INSTANCE, GRANTECAN, OR EVEN LARGER" "IN ORDER TO STUDY THE MOST DISTANT OBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE" "IN GREAT DETAIL AND UNDERSTAND THEIR PROPERTIES." "ASTRONOMERS NOW HAVE PLANS TO BUILD VISIBLE LIGHT TELESCOPES" "THAT WILL DWARF THE INSTRUMENTS IN HAWAII, CHILE," "AND THE CANARY ISLANDS." "THEY DREAM OF OPTICAL TELESCOPES THE SIZE OF FOOTBALL FIELDS" "CAPABLE OF COLLECTING 100 TIMES MORE LIGHT" "THAN OUR BEST TELESCOPES CAN TODAY." "THREE OF THESE UNPRECEDENTED TELESCOPE PROJECTS" "ARE CURRENTLY UNDER WAY." "THE GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE IS AN AMBITIOUS NEW PROJECT" "TO BUILD A 25-METER OPTICAL TELESCOPE." "THAT'S OVER 80 FEET IN DIAMETER." "IT IS AN INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP." "THE TELESCOPE WILL BE MADE UP OF SEVEN MIRRORS," "EACH OF WHICH INDIVIDUALLY IS 8.4 METERS IN DIAMETER." "SO VERY UNLIKE MOST OF THE TELESCOPES" "THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT TO DATE," "THIS IS MADE OF SEN ANT SEGMENTS." "IT'S GOING TO BE LOCATED IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS IN CHILE" "AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 2,700 METERS" "AT A SITE WHICH IS VERY DRY, VERY DARK," "AN EXCELLENT SITE." "COLLABORATORS AMONG UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES" "ENVISION A 30-METER TELESCOPE" "WITH MULTIPLE SEGMENTED MIRRORS LIKE THE KECK OBSERVATORY." "NOT TO BE OUTDONE, THE EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY" "NOW PLANS TO CREATE A TELESCOPE WITH A MIRROR 42 METERS ACROSS." "THE EELT," "THE EUROPEAN EXTREMELY LARGE TELESCOPE," "IS THE LARGEST TELESCOPE THAT MANKIND HAS CONCEIVED." "SO IT'S AN OPTICAL TELESCOPE WITH A 40-METER DIAMETER MIRROR." "WHEN WE BUILD MIRRORS OF THAT SIZE," "WE CANNOT BUILD A MONOLITHIC MIRROR;" "WE HAVE TO SEGMENT IT." "SO WE HAVE ACTUALLY SEGMENTS OF ONE METER" "THAT WE TIE TOGETHER TO FORM THIS VERY LARGE MIRROR," "AND THE WHOLE THING IS THEN, WELL," "THE SIZE OF HALF A FOOTBALL COURT." "THE EELT PROJECT AS SUCH IS MEANT TO TAKE MANKIND," "REALLY, A STEP FURTHER IN OPTICAL ASTRONOMY." "BUT THESE MAJOR TELESCOPE PROJECTS" "ARE NOT LIMITED TO VISIBLE LIGHT ASTRONOMY." "THE NEWEST, BOLDEST, AND MOST EXPENSIVE ARRAY" "OF RADIO TELESCOPES WILL SOON BEGIN OPERATION" "ON THE BARREN ATACAMA PLATEAU IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS OF CHILE." "IN THE LAST DECADE," "ASTRONOMERS ALL OVER THE WORLD BECAME CONVINCED" "THAT THE NEXT BIG PROJECT IN ASTRONOMY" "WAS GOING TO BE AN ARRAY OF RADIO TELESCOPES" "OPERATING IN THE MILLIMETER AND SUBMILLIMETER RANGE." "SO THE NORTH AMERICANS STARTED STUDYING ONE PROJECT." "THE JAPANESE STARTED STUDYING ANOTHER." "THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES GOT TOGETHER" "AND STARTED STUDYING A THIRD." "BUT ALL THREE AGREED THAT THE BEST SITE IN THE WORLD" "TO DO THIS WAS HERE IN THE ATACAMA DESERT." "EVENTUALLY, WE ALL GOT TOGETHER, DECIDED TO DO JUST ONE" "LARGE, REALLY GIANT PROJECT, WHICH WE CALLED A.L.M.A.," "ATACAMA LARGE MILLIMETER ARRAY." "AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL NAME," "BECAUSE ALMA IN SPANISH MEANS "SOUL."" "SUBMILLIMETER RADIO WAVES DON'T PENETRATE WELL" "THROUGH EARTH'S LOWER ATMOSPHERE," "BECAUSE WATER VAPOR THERE ABSORBS THEM." "SO THE A.L.M.A. ARRAY HAD TO BE LOCATED AT A HIGH ALTITUDE," "HIGHER THAN EVEN THE SUMMITS OF MOUNT RAINIER OR THE MATTERHORN." "INSTALLING THE A.L.M.A. DISHES AT AN ALTITUDE ABOVE 16,000 FEET" "TESTS THE LIMITS OF HUMAN ENDURANCE." "BUT A.L.M.A.'S 66 TELESCOPES," "TO BE INSTALLED DURING THE NEXT FEW YEARS," "WILL GIVE ASTRONOMERS A NEVER BEFORE ACCESSIBLE VIEW" "OF THE COSMOS." "IN THIS WAVELENGTH RANGE," "WE CAN STUDY THE COLD UNIVERSE," "COLD REGIONS WHICH REGIONS WHICH ARE FOUND" "INSIDE CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST." "IN THESE CLOUDS, STARS AND PLANETS ARE FORMED" "BY VERY COMPLICATED PROCESSES WHICH WE STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND." "WITH A.L.M.A.," "WE WILL BE ABLE TO ZOOM RIGHT INSIDE THESE CLOUDS" "WITH UNPRECEDENTED SENSITIVITY AND ANGULAR RESOLUTION" "AND LOOK AT THE DETAILS OF THESE PROCESSES." "BECAUSE THERE IS SPECTROSCOPY WITH A.L.M.A. AS WELL," "WE CAN TRY TO UNDERSTAND" "WHAT THESE CLOUDS ARE MADE OF IN DETAIL." "WHAT ARE THE ATOMS AND MOLECULES THERE?" "IT'S VERY INTERESTING CHEMISTRY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT," "BECAUSE IT IS THE BEGINNING OF WHAT WILL LATER BECOME LIFE." "THE SEARCH FOR LIFE BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM" "REMAINS ONE OF HUMANITY'S GREATEST QUESTS." "TO EMBARK ON IT," "WE MUST SEEK OUT PLANETS THAT CAN SUPPORT LIFE." "OVER THE PAST DECADE," "ASTRONOMERS HAVE DISCOVERED MORE THAN 300 PLANETS" "IN ORBIT AROUND OTHER STARS." "WE WOULD LOVE" "TO BE ABLE TO POINT THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE" "AT A NEARBY STAR LIKE ALPHA CENTAURI" "AND DETECT THE EARTHS AND THE JUPITERS" "THAT ORBIT THAT STAR." "THE PROBLEM IS, ANY PLANETS WOULD BE LOST IN THE GLARE" "OF THE HOST STAR, EVEN USING THE MIGHTY HUBBLE." "SO WE USE A TRICK TO DETECT PLANETS." "WE WATCH THE STAR ITSELF, AND A STAR WILL WOBBLE IN SPACE" "DUE TO ANY PLANETS THAT MIGHT BE YANKING ON THAT STAR" "AS THE PLANET ORBITS." "AND SO WE CAN ACTUALLY DISCOVER ALL SORTS OF PLANETS" "BY WATCHING THE STAR INSTEAD OF THE PLANETS." "THE HUNDREDS PLANETS FOUND SO FAR AROUND OTHER STARS" "SHARE A COMMON CHARACTERISTIC." "THEY ALL HAVE MASSES MUCH LARGER THAN EARTH'S." "THIS FACT ARISES FROM THE INDIRECT TECHNIQUE USED" "TO DISCOVER PLANETS." "MORE MASSIVE PLANETS PRODUCE LARGER" "AND THEREFORE MORE DETECTABLE EFFECTS ON THEIR STAR'S MOTION." "SO HOW CAN WE HOPE TO DISCOVER EARTH'S COUSINS," "PLANETS WITH SIZES AND MASSES COMPARABLE TO OUR OWN?" "NASA AND THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY" "PLAN TO SEND SPECIALIZED TELESCOPES INTO ORBIT" "DURING THE NEXT DECADE" "THAT CAN CAPTURE" "THE FAINT REFLECTED LIGHT OF DISTANT PLANETS." "THESE INSTRUMENTS WILL ANALYZE THE SPECTRUM OF THAT LIGHT," "DETERMINING WHETHER THE PLANETS' ATMOSPHERES" "CONTAINS GASES SUCH AS OXYGEN AND METHANE" "THAT HERALD CONDITIONS SUITABLE FOR LIFE" "OR EVEN THE PRESENCE OF LIFE ITSELF." "BUT OTHERS HOPE TO FIND LIFE OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM" "THROUGH DIRECT COMMUNICATION." "WE'RE LOOKING FOR LIFE IN SPACE, BUT NOT JUST ANY KIND OF LIFE." "WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE INTELLIGENT VARIETY." "AND WE DO THAT BY TRYING TO EAVESDROP" "ON MAYBE RADIO SIGNALS THEY'RE BROADCASTING OUR WAY," "OR PERHAPS THEY HAVE GIANT LASERS," "AND THEY'RE FLASHING SOME LIGHT SIGNALS AT US." "EITHER WAY, WE WOULD KNOW THAT THERE'S LIFE OUT THERE" "THAT'S AT LEAST AS CLEVER AS WE ARE." "A CONFIRMED SIGNAL FROM ANOTHER CIVILIZATION" "WILL MARK THE MOMENT THAT WE LEARN WE ARE NOT ALONE." "IF WE WERE TO GET A SIGNAL AND POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND IT" "AND I'M NOT SO SURE WE'LL EVER UNDERSTAND IT" "AT LEAST WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED THE COPERNICAN REVOLUTION." "WE'VE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME" "WE'RE NOT ASTRONOMICALLY SPECIAL." "WELL, WE'D ALSO KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT BIOLOGICALLY SPECIAL" "OR EVEN INTELLECTUALLY SPECIAL." "TECHNOLOGY AND THE THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE" "HAS TAKEN HUMANITY ON A QUEST OF DISCOVERY," "REMOVING US FROM A SMALL CONFINED BALL OF STARS" "AND DROPPING US INTO AN ENDLESS OCEAN OF SPACE AND TIME" "ALIVE WITH LIGHT AND DARKNESS." "WITH EACH STEP OF THIS JOURNEY," "OUR AWARENESS OF THE COSMOS GREW TO REVEAL NEW VISTAS," "NEW ANSWERS, AND MORE QUESTIONS." "OVER THE NEXT DECADES, NEW IDEAS WILL DRIVE NEW TECHNOLOGIES" "THAT WILL GUIDE US TO AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING" "OF THE WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE." "SO ON ONE STARRY NIGHT IN THE NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE," "WE WILL ALL LOOK UP AND SEE A UNIVERSE UNIMAGINED TODAY," "JUST AS GALILEO DID WITH A TELESCOPE OF HIS OWN" "MADE FROM TWO SMALL PIECES OF GLASS." "TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN DISCOVER YOUR UNIVERSE" "WITH A TELESCOPE, LOG ON TO:"