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The University of Cologne and the University of Bonn are part of an international collaboration that brought the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) to life.
Thirty-four years after scientists at the University of Cologne and Cornell University first conceived it, the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) now rises above the Atacama Desert, near the summit of Cerro Chajnantor in Chile’s Parque Astronómico Atacama. FYST will help answer some of the most important questions in astronomy, including how the universe works, the nature of dark energy and dark matter, how galaxies form and evolve and what happened in those mysterious first moments after the Big Bang.
A celebration of the telescope took place April 9 on Cerro Chajnantor at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Telescope facility, with more than 100 attendees, including international dignitaries, project supporters and scientists from the U.S., Germany, Canada and Chile, underscoring the global effort behind this milestone achievement.
FYST is a project of the international CCAT Observatory, Inc., a collaboration that includes Germany’s University of Cologne, University of Bonn and Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, and a Canadian consortium of universities led by the University of Waterloo, in conjunction with Chilean astronomers from nine universities in the country.
„The participation of researchers from the University of Cologne in this prestigious new radio telescope shows how internationally competitive our experts in the field are. In astrophysics, and especially for our new Cluster of Excellence DYNAVERSE, the telescope will provide data and new insights. Congratulations to everyone who worked to achieve this success,” said Professor Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, Rector of the University of Cologne.
The inauguration marks the culmination of decades of collaboration across continents, said Cornell University President Professor Michael I. Kotlikoff, a speaker at the inauguration ceremony. “It is the realization, through the incredible determination, foresight and vision of so many treasured partners, of a unique vision for an enterprise led by academic scientists,” Kotlikoff said. “And it will carry the spirit of collaboration and cooperation that brought us to this moment forward, through new partnerships and new discoveries.”
The telescope features an innovative optical design that allows astronomers to observe over a wide field-of-view in each exposure, enabling them to rapidly and efficiently map wide areas of the sky. Operating in the submillimeter wavelength range of light, FYST will create movies of the sky – “celestial cinematography” – in a part of the electromagnetic spectrum where this has never before been done.
“FYST is the culmination of decades of engagement of the University of Cologne in submillimeter-wave astrophysics in Chile. Alongside our partners at Cornell, we are excited to present this milestone in technology development, which will revolutionize our view of the sky at this important, but underexplored wavelength regime — from a site whose observing conditions are rivaled only by the vacuum of space,” said CCAT board member Dominik Riechers, professor of astrophysics at the University of Cologne.
At a height of 5,640 meters above sea level – higher than the Mount Everest base camp – FYST lies above most of the atmospheric layers that block submillimeter waves from reaching the ground. The Atacama Desert’s extremely dry air will provide exceptional views, without water vapor to obscure the signal.
“FYST will create a globally unique observatory that will set new standards in submillimeter astronomy,” said CCAT board member Frank Bertoldi, professor of radioastronomy at the University of Bonn. “We are proud that the University of Bonn is involved in this project, and we are excited to see the results of the planned deep sky surveys, which will tell us more about the formation of stars and galaxies, the evolution of cosmic structures and the origin of the universe.”
Building a major new telescope at this elevation presented a significant challenge. Atmospheric pressure at the summit of Cerro Chanjantor is less than half what it is at ground level, which required construction workers, and all visitors to the site, to pass a strict physical examination and use supplemental oxygen at the summit.
FYST is named after Cornell alum Fred Young. In addition to his financial support, Young actively participated in the planning process.
The CCAT Heterodyne Array Instrument (CHAI), developed by the University of Cologne, is a high-resolution spectrometer used to study the cycle of interstellar matter in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. The large number of pixels, high sensitivity and choice of spectral lines available with CHAI will, for the first time, trace the flows of interstellar gas to probe how the process of star formation may vary in different galactic environments.
The telescope’s Prime-Cam instrument, designed by Michael Niemack, professor of physics and astronomy (A&S) at Cornell, can hold up to seven changeable modules, giving FYST unmatched flexibility as a platform for new technologies. The instrument will provide unprecedented spectroscopic and broadband measurement capabilities to address fundamental questions in astrophysics and cosmology.
"A research instrument of these proportions is something truly special for us. For many years, the University of Cologne has contributed public funding to the construction of CCAT, and will continue to do so in the coming operational phase,” said Karsten Gerlof, Provost of the University of Cologne, at the inauguration ceremony in Chile.
The telescope’s construction was also financially supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.
CPI Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH, in Duisburg, Germany designed and manufactured the telescope structure, including its drive and control systems. The company invested more than 250,000 hours in design, materials engineering, simulation, manufacturing, qualification, and project coordination – contributing to the technological record-breaking achievements that make the system one-of-a-kind worldwide.
Because of the challenges of working at the extreme altitude, engineers first assembled the telescope in Germany. The team then disassembled it into large pieces and transported them by barge and then cargo ship to Chile, where workers trucked the pieces – the heaviest of which weighed 60 tons – up the mountain, a feat of careful coordination.
Professor Dr Dominik Riechers
Institute for Astrophysics, University of Cologne
+49 221 470 76027
riechers@ph1.uni-koeln.de
https://uni-koeln.px.media/share/1775669662GzssePcy09VqOw/media
The Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope in the Atacama Desert is now ready to begin operations.
Quelle: Niclas Carl
Copyright: Niclas Carl / University of Cologne
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