UK Astronomy Technology Centre

#JamesWebbSpaceTelescope discovers first young brown dwarfs outside the Milky Way. 💫 Astronomers using #JWST have identified the first population of young brown dwarf candidates outside our galaxy, located in the star cluster NGC 602. This cluster is situated near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Dr Olivia Jones, STFC Webb Fellow at UK ATC and co-author on the new paper in The Astrophysical Journal, said: “Hubble had observed NGC 602 but JWST allows us to see even more detail, peering through the cosmic dust to reveal these brown dwarf candidates. This discovery brings us closer to understanding star and planet formation in the early Universe." Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_yJkahT #astronomy #science

Great to see the new improved Higgs Centre for Innovation is back in business after major renovations to the make the testing facilities more accessible to a wider base of technology SMEs and space companies. Helping to meet the needs of the rapidly growing UK space sector. 🚀 🛰

WATCH: The first SKA-Mid telescope dish tests its synchronisation with the MeerKAT telescope! MeerKAT, built and operated by SARAO - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, will eventually be integrated into the SKA-Mid array, so it's important to test that the dishes are able to simultaneously point at the same objects in space. Enjoy their dance! 💃 The National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) #SKAconstruction

Building large-scale astronomy instruments that operate below subzero is complicated. ❄ Building MOONS at its operating temperature is impossible (the detectors operate at -230°C). But nearly all materials shrink when they are cooled. So how do you tackle a complex engineering problem like MOONS? 🤔 In our latest blog Mechanical Engineer Jonathan Strachan talks us through some of the complex design and engineering required on a scientific instrument like MOONS: "Shrinkage is more consistent if you use the same materials, so on MOONS we use the same grade of aluminium for as many components as possible. The advantage being that these parts can be precisely machined at room temperature and will maintain their relative precision to each other when cold. "Most of MOONS is 6082 aluminium. This shrinks in proportion to its length when cooled. Aluminium shrinks by around 0.325% at MOONS operating temperature. "This may not sound like much, but it means something 1 metre long at room temperature has shrunk 3.25mm at operating temperature. MOONS optical bench is 3.2 metres across its longest dimension, so shrinks by over 10mm. "Of course, it isn't possible to use the same material for everything, so you need to calculate how different materials contract at different rates. There are six cameras in MOONS, their lenses are glass and the support structure is aluminium. If you get your maths wrong the surrounding metal ring will shrink and the glass could shatter." Read the full blog 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekg3yxRN STFC | European Southern Observatory #science #engineering #astronomy #technology

There's still time to apply for the 3D Printing Industrial Placement role at UK ATC. AM4Space is a multidisciplinary team that works alongside the Project Science Group, Optics Group and the Mechanical Engineering Group at the UK ATC. The motivation behind AM4Space is to explore the design freedom offered by additive manufacturing (AM; 3D printing) and how astronomical components can be redesigned to take advantage of AM – specifically telescope mirrors. The AM4Space team aims to solve some of the fundamental challenges inherent to AM that have so far prevented wider uptake of AM within the astronomical community, such as mechanical performance, particularly within harsh environments; optical performance of AM substrates; and linking design for AM with design for manufacture. As an AM4Space Industrial Placement student you will work in parallel with a current UK ATC project team to redesign a key hardware component for AM. Potential projects include, but are not limited to, the AM redesign of the secondary mirror from the CubeSat Camera (CCAM) study, reducing the mass and combining multiple parts into one structure, or implementing a new AM design to convert an existing AM aluminium mirror into an AM ceramic mirror. The goal of the placement is to transfer the key knowledge in how the AM redesign has been achieved and the lessons learnt to the engineers, technicians and scientists working at the UKATC. 📅 Applications close 20 Oct 👉 https://lnkd.in/d8nSKYK9 #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #IndustrialPlacement #Opportunity #Technology #Science

If you’re at the International Astronautical Congress IAC2024 this week then drop me a message if you want to meet up - we’re based at the UK Pavillion hosted by the UK Space Agency. Come over and have a chat… Higgs Centre for Innovation, UK Astronomy Technology Centre, STFC, STFC Business & Innovation

Some amazing shots of the aurora over UK ATC, Higgs Centre for Innovation and Royal Observatory Edinburgh last week! ( 📸 taken by Instrument Scientist William Taylor). #aurora #astronomy #science #NorthernLights

For #WorldSpaceWeek we are highlighting some of our favourite #astronomy stories from the last few months. 💫 ✨ New #JWST / #MIRI image of Arp 107: https://lnkd.in/eiEjwMpa 🗺 Gigantic infrared map of the Milky Way has been completed: https://lnkd.in/ez4spwiF 🛰 Profile of the LISA mission on Gizmodo.com: https://lnkd.in/dbNWaiuN 📡 Further funding for AtLAST announced: https://lnkd.in/dYC8kpt7 #Space #Astronomy #Technology

Another successful Doors Open Days at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh ✨ 🎉 🎈 This year we welcomed over 2,700 people to the site across over the two days. They enjoyed a variety of activities, including tours, demonstrations, crafts and our ever-popular LEGO kits (this year's model was A-DOT). Doors Open Days 2024 was a fantastic opportunity to engage with the public on astronomy, engineering and science. Experts were on hand to talk about our role on the James Webb Space Telescope, SKA Observatory, LISA, the Extremely Large Telescope, Gaia, Euclid and many more exciting astronomy projects. The feedback from the public was overwhelmingly positive, with over 95% saying they really enjoyed (83.4%) or enjoyed (12.3%) the event. We had some wonderful feedback from visitors: “I really loved the books in the library. I liked all of it! It was awesome! When I grow up I want to be an astronomer and inspire young people to make their dreams come true." (Elodie, 8) “I loved everything I saw. I love this place. I love science. I want to come back!" (Maisie, 5) “Thank you very much for taking the time to organise and run an amazing event. I brought two 12-year-olds who had a great time. I did too!" (N, 46). This year's event was also the last headed by UK ATC Director and  ROE Head of Site Professor Gillian Wright CBE before she steps down from the role. “Welcoming the public to the Royal Observatory is one of the highlights of every year. So, I'm very pleased I got to oversee one last Doors Open Days during my final weeks in the role of Director at UK ATC. It's been fantastic to watch the event grow over the years, giving people a real insight into the science and engineering taking place on site and the amazing research it makes possible." Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/ezFqz-wD

Find out more about a project 3D printing with copper that we've been working on 👇