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LBT Publishes "First Light" Image

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the still-too-much-of-that-air-stuff-in-the-way dept.

FarmKing writes "The Large Binocular Telescope has achieved "first light" and published it's first image of NGC891. The image was taken with one of it's two 8.4 Meter (~655 ft^2) mirrors. When fully operational, LBT will be one of the largest optical telescopes in the world."

3 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. Re:24 million years ago? by QuantumG · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cause we still don't understand how the universe was formed. Astronomy is the pure research that drives the study of physics. We have no hope of developing a unified theory without further astronomical research. Want nuclear fusion? Want new sensors, or new materials? It all comes back to physics. Our fundamental understanding of the rules of the universe is what defines our capabilities. Similarly for particle accelerators and other pure research.

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
  2. Re:24 million years ago? by agentcdog · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Aside from the fact that history tells us how we got here, we assume that the laws of the universe are not dependent on WHEN something occurs. So some physical event which took place hundreds of millions of years ago is no less important than what is happening now. Either way, we can only watch and learn.

    --
    If I understand Dirac correctly, his meaning is this: there is no God, and Dirac is his Prophet. -Pauli
  3. Re:hubble? by Somegeek · · Score: 3, Insightful
    deglr6328 stated:
    The completion of these small outriggers has been delayed for several years however because of the (idiotic) cries of "oh noes it will disturb the sacred mountain spirits so you can't build anything there ever anymore!!" from native Hawaiian tribe organizations.
    Why are they idiotic cries? Just because it is not your religion's most sacred site that is being desecrated doesn't mean that it doesn't matter or isn't important. How far would this project get if its proposed site was the Wailing Wall, or Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai?
    --
    And as you tread the halls of sanity, You feel so glad to be, Unable to go beyond. I have a message, From another time..