ANALYSIS & OPINION
Astronomy on a chip
29 June 2018
Professor Dr Martin Roth, at research centre Innofspec Potsdam, discusses the role that fibre Bragg gratings and other photonics components could play in transforming astronomy
Astronomy
FEATURE
Optics in astronomy: Evolution of the eye on the sky
30 April 2018
The stringent requirements for ground and space-based telescopes are driving the development of innovative materials and optical systems, Matthew Dale reports
NEWS
UK Space Agency and OpTIC centre launch entrepreneur space programme
25 January 2018
The UK Space Agency is working with Glyndŵr University’s OpTIC Technology Centre and the SETsquared Partnership to launch an entrepreneurial programme to get more entrepreneurs into space
PRESS RELEASE
ESO signs contract with Toptica for ELT laser sources
4 January 2018
German photonics firm Toptica has signed an updated contract with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for the production of four more lasers to be used in the adaptive optics system of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT)
NEWS
VLT exoplanet spectrograph makes first observations
7 December 2017
The Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanet and Stable Spectroscopic Observations (ESPRESSO) has made its first observations. Installed on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, ESPRESSO will search for exoplanets by looking at the minuscule changes in the light of their host stars.
NEWS
Casting begins for fifth mirror of Giant Magellan Telescope
14 November 2017
Casting has begun for the fifth mirror of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), a 24.5-metre near infrared and visible telescope comprising seven 8.4-metre mirror segments
PRESS RELEASE
Physik Instrumente wins actuator contract from ESO for ELT telescope
5 October 2017
PI (Physik Instrumente) designed a new type of actuator that would meet the extreme requirements and win the European South Observatory (ESO) contract
NEWS
Guide Star Alliance to receive OSA award for laser guide star
23 August 2017
The Optical Society (OSA) has announced that the Guide Star Alliance has been selected to receive the 2017 Paul F Forman Team Engineering Excellence Award
NEWS
Adaptive optics system doubles contrast on Very Large Telescope
7 August 2017
An adaptive optics system, which has been more than a decade in the making, has seen first light as part of the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope on the Cerro Paranal mountain in Chile
FEATURE
Optics - the final frontier: E-ELT pushes the boundaries of optics fabrication
9 June 2017
The European Extremely Large Telescope project is well underway, and is stretching the capabilities of the optical industry, as Matthew Dale discovers