Australia's chief scientist launches Zadko telescope

by Maireid Sullivan | April 10, 2009 at 08:54 pm

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ABC_RN Science Show featured an interview with Prof. David Coward re. the new Zadco telescope, which can capture light from 11 billion years ago, thereby viewing what the universe looked like then –"uncharted and previously unmonitored space."

Well worth downloading or listening online to the interview with David Coward Professor Physics University of Western Australia.

"David Coward describes the capabilities of the Zadko telescope, recently opened north or Perth, Western Australia. Zadco is designed to look at flashes of light from the far edge of the universe. These are gamma ray bursts. Some are the result of the collapse of distant massive stars. Zadko has been the only telescope to observe these flashes, some of which are from a distance of 11 billion light years. These flashes were produced at a time twice the age of the Earth and our Solar System."

The State's biggest telescope, launched by Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett, at The University of Western Australia on Wednesday April 1, will boost WA's profile in robotic astronomy.

Co-located with the Gravity Discovery Centre near Gingin, north of Perth, the telescope is part of a global network of telescopes linked to a NASA satellite ground station. It will search for massive cosmic explosions known as gamma ray bursts which herald the formation of black holes at the edge of the known universe.

The Zadko telescope's unique geographical position makes it a vital global facility for the study of the transient universe, allowing it to explore a huge section of uncharted and previously unmonitored space.

The Zadko telescope will also be involved in joint international projects such as searching for potentially hazardous near-earth asteroids and tracing dangerous space junk while helping scientists learn about the formation of our own planet. It has already detected one of the biggest explosions in the universe which occurred more than 11 billion years ago (before the earth was formed), resulting in the death of a star.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson acknowledged the generosity of Jim Zadko, Chief Executive Officer of Claire Energy, for his gift of the Zadko telescope to the people of Western Australia.

"The Zadko telescope joins other exciting astronomy projects in this State, including the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in partnership with Curtin University of Technology; and the Australian International Gravitational Observatory in Gingin," Professor Robson said.

"Our University continues to move down a path which will see it become a truly excellent international university - counted among the best research-intensive universities in the world. Projects such as this epitomise such global excellence through international links with researchers across the world."

Chief Scientist for Western Australia, Professor Lyn Beazley; UWA Senior Research Fellow and Zadko project leader, Dr David Coward; and UWA physicist and Director of the International Gravity Research Centre at Gingin, Professor David Blair attended the launch.