Starship Asterisk*

[img3="A nighttime shot shows some of the antennas of the Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array in California, with the center of our galaxy in the background.
(Copyright: Gregg Hallinan/Caltech)"]http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/universe ... 336-16.jpg[/img3]

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A new radio telescope array developed by a consortium led by Caltech and now operating at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory has the ability to image simultaneously the entire sky at radio wavelengths with unmatched speed, helping astronomers to search for objects and phenomena that pulse, flicker, flare, or explode.

The new tool, the Owens Valley Long Wavelength Array (OV-LWA), is already producing unprecedented videos of the radio sky. Astronomers hope that it will help them piece together a more complete picture of the early universe and learn about extrasolar space weather—the interaction between nearby stars and their orbiting planets.

The consortium includes astronomers from Caltech, JPL, Harvard University, the University of New Mexico, Virginia Tech, and the Naval Research Laboratory. ...