Current Research Projects
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- DEEP: Deep Extragalactic
Evolutionary Probe
- Large-scale sky survey to observe extremely remote galaxies.
Since light we observe left these galaxies eons ago, in observing
remote galaxies we also look back in time to reveal the origins
of our Universe. DEEP data will answer profound questions, for
example: when did galaxies form--and how did they evolve to form
stars like our Sun?
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- OSETI: Optical
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
- Surveying for evidence of artificially-produced bursts of light
which may indicate extraterrestrial intelligence--as lasers used
by other civilizations for astronomical research, or to signal
distant intelligent life.
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- SAGES
: Study of the Astrophysics of Globular Clusters in Extragalactic
Systems
- Globular clusters are thought to be the oldest radiant objects
in the universe. As fossil remnants out of which galaxies have
formed, they are observed for information about galaxy formation
and evolution.
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Research Instruments Constructed
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- ESI:
Echellette Spectrograph and Imager
- Build in the Lick Observatory Instrument Lab, this versatile
instrument was installed at the Cassegrain focus of the Keck II
telescope in 1999.
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- DEIMOS
: Deep Extragalactic Imaging Multiobject Spectrograph
- Built in the Lick Observatory Instrument Lab to enable the DEEP
survey--to collect and analyze light that has traveled billions
of years from its original source, probing tens of thousands of
galaxies at the edge of the visible Universe. Now installed on
the Keck II telescope.
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- TMT: Thirty Meter Telescope
- Many institutions are collaborating on this multi-year project
to design and build a thirty-meter-diameter telescope for research
in astronomy at visible and infrared wavelengths.
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Research Institutions
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- CfAO: Center
for Adaptive Optics
- Initially funded by NSF in 2000 as a result of proposal by UC
astronomers in conjunction with private industry. Adaptive optics
(AO) sharpens images used in vision science as well as astronomical
research. CfAO encompasses both research and education.
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