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Discovery Channel Telescope Snaps Inaugural Pictures

Posted by Unknown on from the space-is-always-cool dept.

eldavojohn writes "Two decades ago ... Discovery Channel teamed up with Lowell Observatory and embarked upon a $53 million adventure: the fifth largest telescope in the United States funded entirely without state or federal money. The very first photos snapped with its 16 million pixel camera are in and they look beautiful. Yet to be seen are the simultaneous spectroscopic and imaging observations that should be provided to researchers by the DCT's Ritchey-Chretien instrument cube. Located near a dark-sky site (Coconino National Forest), scientists hope to use this new telescope to answer many research questions including how our solar system formed and how dwarf galaxies evolve. For more telescope porn, check out the DCT's photo tours. Luckily 'the process of planning and building the telescope is due to be featured in a one-hour Discovery Channel documentary set to air in September 2012.' Perhaps there is hope for Discovery Channel to return to its former glory?"

4 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. What's the Matter? by eldavojohn · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Did my original submission strike a little too close to home?

    Two decades ago (before it went to shit) ...

    Seriously, when I submitted that I was staring down ~10 hours of "Swamp Brothers," "Swamp Loggers" and "Gator Boys." Seriously. Now NatGeo is following suit ... am I just getting curmudgeonly? How is this happening?

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    My work here is dung.
  2. 16 Megapixles by Psychotic_Wrath · · Score: 1, Interesting
    So when I read this I was impressed until I read

    16 million pixel camera

    Why not just say a 16 megapixel camera? Is it just me or is a 16 megapixel camera not impressive.?

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    Doctors do Massage in Longview WA now, who knew?
    1. Re:16 Megapixles by mopomi · · Score: 3, Interesting

      First, the submitter got the value wrong. The Large Monolithic Imager (LMI) has 36 MPixels (technically, it has 6144x6160 = 37,847,040 pixels), not 16 MPixels.

      http://www.lowell.edu/dct_instruments.php

      Second, being a scientific instrument, it has a rather lot of requirements that your Nikon doesn't; the number of pixels is only one of several parameters engineers trade against each other when building a camera for scientific use.

  3. Re:Minor nitpick in summary by iroll · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's funny, because the way I read the summary, I assumed it was the 5th largest privately funded scope.

    Thanks, English ancestors....

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    Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth. - FDR