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E-Merlin "Super-Telescope" Switched On

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the ip-over-avian-carrier-would-have-been-better dept.

Smivs writes to tell us that one of the world's most powerful telescope arrays has been switched on with great success. Seven radio telescopes in the UK have been linked with optical fiber, replacing the older microwave tech that connected them previously. One researcher compared the move to a broadband upgrade from dial-up. Research teams will now be able to do in one day what previously took them three years.

4 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. lot-o-data by dnormant · · Score: 3, Insightful

    TFA doesn't mention it but I would assume they have upgraded their storage and processing power to accommodate the additional data.

    1. Re:lot-o-data by robkill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Given the age of the older microwave links, plus the fact they were doing the processing, but were bandwidth-limited, it's probable that they've had the storage and processing power for a while, but the bandwidth infrastructure is now just catching up.

      --
      DMCA - Chilling free speech since 1998.
    2. Re:lot-o-data by Extremus · · Score: 2, Insightful
      This strangely reminds my of something I have read in a Tanenbaum book:

      Never Underestimate The Bandwidth of A Station Wagon Full Of Magnetic Tapes Hurtling Down The Highway

  2. Re:shocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    No point for your area. You'll be the first on metered net service, and that'll kill the desire for a fat pipe.