Sunrise on Research

Abstract

Sunrise above the clouds at Mount Wilson Observatory in California marks First Light on a new automated solar telescope. The image shows a new robotic mount installed at the top of the observatory 60-foot tower, where two telescopes capture light from the Sun. The telescope on the right houses a camera using intelligent machine vision to guide the mount following the movement of the Sun. The telescope on the left transmits sunlight along an optical fibre into a solar spectrometer in the observing room below. The system measures solar oscillations – sound waves that pass through the very core of the Sun and reveal the secrets of its deep interior that would otherwise be hidden behind the bright solar surface.