Eyes like a HAWK-I

In Chile, The European Southern Observatory's VLT (Very Large Telescope) has recently benefited from the fitting of a new camera, HAWK-I. This new camera will make the observable universe that much easier for astronomers trying to get a clear view of the night sky.

Specifically, HAWK-I's camera is an infrared camera that is now replacing the ISAAC camera, which was ESO's go-to for infrared imaging. Comparatively, HAWK-I has 16 times (!!) the megapixels of ISAAC, and utilizes newer technologies that allow it to filter out dust and gas much more efficiently. As any astronomer knows, dust and gas can obscure much of what they wish to see, and so a hypersensitive camera is great news for the community.

One application of ESO's new camera currently being explored is the improved observation of distant spiral galaxies. The arms of spiral galaxies contain vast amounts of dust and gas, and thus, the ability to filter out these obstructions with HAWK-I allows us to view stars (without noise and interference) more clearly and thereby conduct better research into the makings of these galaxies and what drives the creation of their perfect, spiral arms.

Read more [here], and make sure to check out the beautiful images below of spiral galaxies that were captured by Preben Grosbol et. al., using HAWK-I's fantastic new technology. Oh, and click to enlarge them! Small size just really doesn't do them much justice. 

Until next time,

Shawn