Head in the stars

Cosmic rays are those accelerated subatomic particles of unknown origin constantly showering the Earth and whose energy for some of them equates that of a shotgun bullet. The film is a short overview of current detectors and research paths for the years to come. A longer version of this film entitled “Radio cosmic” is available.

With an average of over one scientific article a day being published, the Very Large Telescope (VLT) is the astronomic observatory with the biggest scientific output in the world. As shown in this video, 2015 is to be a year abounding with discoveries especially with the Muse and Sphere instruments produced in French laboratories and mounted in Chile over the last year. This video was created from VLT, as a gateway to the stars. It is a film by Roland Bacon, astrophysicist, to be viewed via…

In operation since June 2014, the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch instrument (SPHERE), attached to one of the four mirrors of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, was designed for the direct observation of extrasolar planets. Light reflected by exoplanets is much fainter than that of their neighboring stars, making direct detection very difficult. SPHERE combines a number of technologies to obtain extremely high-contrast images in the area around the star to identify…

Within 35 minutes the film explores the inspiration and the story behind MUSE, why it was needed how it came into life over a nine year long development phase. It highlights the needed international European cooperation to realise the project and the participation of some of the hundreds of researchers, technicians and engineers involved. The innovative technology of MUSE and the front-line science done with it are discussed as well. Also the delicate installation process and the moment of…

The LSST, or Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will conduct a 10-year survey of the sky that will deliver a 500 petabyte set of images and data products that will address some of the most pressing questions about the structure and evolution of the universe and the objects in it.

Sofia is a Boeing 747 like no other. Run by NASA and the DLR, the German space agency, this aircraft was specially modified to accommodate a telescope. Come on board with astrophysicist Olivier Berné and jet to the stratosphere to observe the nebula of Orion, where stars are born.

NOEMA (NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful millimetre radio telescope in the northern hemisphere. Located on the Bure plateau, in the Hautes-Alpes, the observatory will eventually consist of 12 antennae that will form a single large radio telescope capable of revealing the invisible thanks to interferometry. Equipped with a new generation of receivers and electronics, these antennas will be able to capture the coldest light emitted by the universe, around 250°C. The…

NOEMA (NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array) is the most powerful millimetre radio telescope in the northern hemisphere. Located on the Bure plateau, in the Hautes-Alpes, the observatory will eventually consist of 12 antennae that will form a single large radio telescope capable of revealing the invisible thanks to interferometry. Equipped with a new generation of receivers and electronics, these antennas will be able to capture the coldest light emitted by the universe, around 250°C. The…