telescope

Mauna Kea is considered sacred to Native Hawaiians. It also happens to be ideal for observatories.

On a stunning Hawaiian mountain, the fight over telescopes is nearing a peaceful end

5:00am July 31, 2022

by GUILLERMO MOLERO

Mauna Kea is considered sacred to Native Hawaiians. It also happens to be ideal for space observatories. Now, a long running fight over the mountain's future may be coming to an end.

The James Webb Space Telescope (shown here being tested on earth) is expected to reveal some of the most spectacular views of the Universe ever seen.

Science

NASA's James Webb telescope reveals the universe as we've never seen it before

9:24pm July 11, 2022

by Joe Palca

NASA's $10 billion new telescope showed the world something remarkable today: an image of some of the first galaxies to form in the universe.

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Astronomical text books in Latin are displayed at the Vatican Observatory.

The Vatican's Space Observatory Wants To See Stars And Faith Align

7:53am June 06, 2021

by Sylvia Poggioli

For a long time, the Catholic Church rejected scientific findings that conflicted with its doctrine, even persecuting Galileo. Now the Vatican looks to promote its observatory as a bridge to science.

Romanesco broccoli, as seen by a 3.2 billion pixel camera. Scientists chose to take a picture of the broccoli because of its fractal shape.

Science

California Scientists Build A Camera To Take Pictures Of Huge Swath Of Sky

7:54am September 09, 2020

by Joe Palca

Scientists and engineers in California are building a unique 3.2 billion pixel camera for a telescope under construction in Chile. The camera has taken its first test pictures — of broccoli.

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Native Hawaiians have objected to construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope for years. On Monday, about 300 protesters arrived to block workers from accessing the site on a mountain believed to be sacred land.

Hawaii Protesters Block Access Road To Stop Construction Of Massive Telescope

6:27pm July 15, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

Native Hawaiians chained themselves to a grate in a road to stop work on the controversial Mauna Kea project on what they say is sacred land. Development is scheduled to begin this week.

Telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island. Some native Hawaiians consider Mauna Kea sacred and object to construction of a new giant telescope there.

Hawaii's Supreme Court OKs Construction Of Giant Telescope Despite Native Objections

3:53am November 01, 2018

by Ruben Kimmelman

The massive telescope with a nearly 100-foot mirror is set to be built atop 13,800-foot Mauna Kea, considered sacred land by some of the project's opponents.

Engineers next to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Science

How To Pack A Space Telescope

8:00am February 08, 2018

by Joe Palca

Operating a telescope in space is a challenge, but so is moving one on Earth. An inside look at how NASA's James Webb Space Telescope moved from Houston to Los Angeles.

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A technician examines the mirror on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Scientists at two national laboratories are currently building the components for an enormous digital camera that will capture images from the telescope.

The Largest Digital Camera In The World Takes Shape

5:00am November 17, 2017

by Joe Palca

A two-story tall, digital camera is taking shape in California. It will ultimately go on a telescope in Chile where it will survey the sky, looking for things that appear suddenly or change over time.

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The world's largest radio telescope is nestled among the jagged, green mountains of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

In Southwest China, A 'Very Large Eyeball' Peers Into Deep Space

9:30am November 16, 2016

by Anthony Kuhn

The new telescope will help discover new galaxies and will observe the hydrogen clouds from which stars and planets are born. But not everyone's happy. 9,000 locals were displaced to make room for it.

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Effort To Build The World's Biggest Telescope Hits A Big Snag

1:44pm December 04, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

Project officials say they're assessing what to do after Hawaii's Supreme Court invalidated their building permit.