WHAT COMES AFTER THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE?

The Next Generation Space Telescope, of course. If this were a movie it would be Son of Hubble, or The Return of the Hubble, but these are scientists speaking and they are looking into the future to decide what latest wizardry should be built into the orbiting space telescope that will succeed the Hubble.

One of the many scientists working on the concepts competing to ride on the NGST, Dr Massimo Stiavelli of the Space Telescope Science Institute in the United States, will give a UNSW Physics Colloquium on the latest news, at UNSW next Tuesday, 26 June.

Associate Professor Warrick Couch, one of UNSW's astronomy team, said: "Astronomically the Hubble has been a brilliant success. Like many other tools scientists build, it revealed surprising new science and it told us much about the more distant parts of the Universe that nobody expected.

"But not even the Hubble can withstand the march of technology. Ideas that were revolutionary when its design was 'frozen' are already obsolescent and astronomers are eager to get new instruments into space to see what the next revelations will be.

"We expect the NGST to be a 'cold' telescope, meaning that it will be oriented towards the infrared end of the spectrum, rather than the more usual visible end. Infrared has the advantages of being able to penetrate dust clouds, so we can see more clearly into the centres of galaxies, and of collecting information on very distant objects that have been 'red-shifted' towards the infrared because of the extreme speeds with which they are moving away from our galaxy," he said.

Dr Stiavelli is in Australia to attend a conference in Tasmania on an Australian proposal for another infrared telescope, costing about one thousandth of what the NGST could cost, to be erected in partnership with French, Italian and US astronomers on the Antarctic plateau. It would be called the Douglas Mawson Telescope in honour of the Australian explorer.

UNSW's Professor John Storey, one of the proposers, said: "As the DMT could be operational at least five years before the NGST, this is a window of opportunity through which a most cost-effective Australian technology could be showing the greatest telescope ever built where to look."

WHAT: "The Next Generation Space Telescope": a free astronomy talk by Dr Massimo Stiavelli, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA

WHEN: 3.45pm for 4 pm, Tuesday 26 June

WHERE: Physics Building, UNSW; cars enter via Gate 14, Barker St, Randwick, Physics (or Old Main) Building is straight ahead across lawn. Cars may use multistorey carpark so turn right.

For astronomy details contact Professor Storey on 9385 4566 or Associate Professor Couch on 9385 4578. For media information contact Rory McGuire on 9385 5751 or 0413 930 728.

Date issued: 25 June 2001