Galaxy Zoo
University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) is taking research to new limits.
Professor Bob Nichol of the ICG will be undertaking a key role in the new, pioneering telescope LOFAR (Low Frequency Array). Developed by institutes and universities across Europe and funded by ASTRON, a Netherlands Foundation, LOFAR will open new horizons in the field of astronomy.
The first of its kind, LOFAR is comprised of some 25,000 antennae built across Europe that will monitor low frequency radio signals across the galaxies. This data will be transmitted to a supercomputer within the campus. It is estimated that a massive ½ terabit per second, which is equal to 500GB, will be sent along fibre-glass tubes to the main computer.
These antennae will be set up at Chilbolton Observatory in Winchester, in close proximity to the University. The antennae’s data will be monitored and observed by three universities across the south: Southampton, Oxford and Portsmouth itself.
The implications of this ambitious venture are enormous; who knows what LOFAR might find? It is an exciting step into the unknown, in which Portsmouth will play a key role.
It is also a testament to the ICG’s growing reputation that the university’s cosmologists will be involved in such an amazing, groundbreaking venture. The research endeavours of the University have established Portsmouth as a world-class research centre.