Before the Dark Energy Survey began in August 2013, scientists spent months testing the Dark Energy Camera, putting it through its paces. Now, catalogs of galaxies and stars derived from the data collected during the Science Verification season have been released to the public.
astrophysics
Scientists on the Dark Energy Survey, using one of the world’s most powerful digital cameras, have discovered eight more faint celestial objects hovering near our Milky Way galaxy. Signs indicate that they, like the objects found by the same team earlier this year, are likely dwarf satellite galaxies, the smallest and closest known form of galaxies.
On Aug. 31, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) officially began. Scientists on the survey team will systematically map one-eighth of the sky (5000 square degrees) in unprecedented detail. The start of the survey is the culmination of 10 years of planning, building and testing by scientists from 25 institutions in six countries.
Scientists of the Pierre Auger Observatory, a project to study the highest-energy cosmic rays, will celebrate the inauguration of their 3000-square-kilometer detector array at the southern site of the observatory in Malargüe, Argentina, this Friday, November 14, 2008.