Digital telescope project awarded £3m

The new digital telescope is likely to be located in the Canary Islands near the University of Warwick observing facilities on La Palma

An astronomy project has been awarded £3m to develop a telescope with the aim of detecting the explosions of stars and merging of black holes in real time.

Led by Prof Don Pollacco at the University of Warwick, the team will build the digital device, which will be fed by dozens of smaller telescopes.

It is hoped the project will create a highly sensitive continuous movie of the night sky.

Prof Pollacco described the telescope's potential as "transformational".

The La Palma observatory is currently funded and operated by Warwick University

Typically, astronomical facilities have telescopes attached to a mount which track the Earth's rotation.

However, the digital telescope would include dozens of smaller stationary instruments equipped with state-of-the-art sensors, the University of Warwick said.

Computers would then produce highly sensitive images of the night sky, correcting for the Earth's rotation and using algorithms to detect objects moving at speed.

The telescope is expected to pick up movements of satellites, but also asteroids and comets approaching the earth.

A prototype will include data from 52 telescopes and is likely to be installed in the Canary Islands near the university's observatory on La Palma.

Prof Pollacco said it was "incredible" the technology did not yet exist to pick up explosive space events in real time, researchers instead relying on nightly and weekly surveys.

"Most of the important physics can only be observed near the time of the initial explosion, so early detection is vital," he explained.

“Typical objects we are looking to detect include supernova, which are explosions of stars at the end of their lives, and the merging of black holes and neutron stars."

He explained the data could help alleviate the threat space debris posed to satellites and prove useful to astronomical research in general.

“If the Digital Telescope works as we expect, then its contribution will be transformational to both the study of astrophysical explosions and the population of artificial objects in near space," he added.

The project is being funded by an European Research Council grant, with the university contributing £600k.