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PART X: From the outer reaches of our universe

Peering into the distant cosmos to answer questions about the origins of galaxies, stars and planets. University of British Columbia.

Sharon Oosthoek

The University of British Columbia

British Columbia

Astronomy

A compilation of the Milky Way as seen from space, a tall, circular building containing the telescope and a powerful space camera, which looks like a large blue box.

Astronomers from around the world are peering into the Milky Way, pictured here, and far out into the cosmos with the help of a sophisticated camera, parts of which were designed at the University of British Columbia. Called SCUBA-2 (Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array-2, blue box at right), the camera produces images of the distant universe at far-infrared wavelengths. Located on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, in Hawaii (centre), SCUBA-2’s precision is allowing scientists to survey large areas of the sky with unprecedented sensitivity to help us better understand how galaxies, stars and planets form.

Images: Jessica Dempsey, East Asian Observatory (EAO)/James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), Herschel (Milky Way); JCMT (SCUBA-2); William Montgomerie/EAO/JCMT (telescope)

View “PART IX: To inside our head”
View “PART XI: To what is closest to our hearts”
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