UNews - Laval

Herschel Mission Operating Phase Wrapping Up

trevor.kenney — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:54:37 +0000

A pioneering space imaging mission that sent a scientific instrument co-developed by a U of L researcher on a 1.5 million kilometre trip to deep space aboard the Herschel Space Observatory might be nearing its conclusion, but that doesn't mean the end of the project for the research team.

Dr. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) and his team of researchers lead Canada's contribution to the Herschel project on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency.

The instrument, called the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver ("SPIRE"), is one of three devices attached to the Herschel telescope system.

http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/herschel/default.asp

The helium-filled 'gas tank' cooling Herschel's equipment is expected to run dry over the next few weeks – an expected process.

As the coolant diminishes, equipment will stop working, but data transmission will continue until the bus-sized telescope parks itself in a permanent orbit around the sun.

What follows is a five-year post operation phase, where the data obtained during the mission are used to develop improved calibration algorithms to allow the most information to be extracted from the images. Eventually the data will be reprocessed and placed in an archive that will have legacy value.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Herschel_to_finish_observing_soon

The mission, launched on May 14, 2009 from the Ariane Spaceport in French Guyana, almost immediately began to shed new light on stars and galaxies by measuring a level of light called far-infrared.

Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but travels well across the universe. Star forming regions emit light at these wavelengths and Herschel can detect it, capturing a wealth of detail such as heat signatures and chemical composition that help astronomers clearly see, for the first time, stars and whole galaxies that have previously remained hidden or only poorly understood.

"SPIRE picks up heat and chemical signals that are not visible by optical telescopes, and turns that data into the amazing images and information we and other scientists are using to learn more about the life and death of stars and galaxies," Naylor said.

In addition to literally 'clearing up' the images people have been using for two centuries to look into space, Naylor said the Herschel mission is confirming the existence of molecules on earth that originated in space.

"With SPIRE we can look at the big picture, or the very tiny picture, and gain a whole new insight into how stars live and die. The reason the imagery is so clear is that the space observatory sits more than 1.5 million km from earth, far from our atmosphere which absorbs virtually all radiation at which far-infrared wavelengths. Since the universe emits most of its energy at these wavelengths, Herschel provides us with our first comprehensive view of the universe."

The data and crisp images come from a device about as big as a large microwave oven that took more than 15 years and $100 million to develop – and has to function at a chilly -270C.

Also gratifying are the unique research collaborations that Naylor sees happening in the future. "Approximately one-third of the time available to researchers is guaranteed to those involved in key projects, and our time is included in that. We see the data here in Lethbridge before anyone else does. Scientists will be seeking our help in analyzing their data and the U of L group will be an important Canadian and international resource."

With an estimated output of up to 7,000 hours per year of data, there should be enough information to keep researchers busy for years – and some of that data flows through Blue Sky Spectroscopy, a Lethbridge-based, high tech spinoff company founded by Naylor in 2003, and now privately owned and operated.

Blue Sky is one of the three international Data Processing and Science Analysis Software centres for the SPIRE instrument. Data are downloaded daily from the spacecraft and stored on the Blue Sky servers.

Its highly qualified staff, all with postgraduate degrees, specialize in custom hardware and software spectroscopic solutions. Customers include NASA, ESA, and CSA, and many leading research institutes such as Harvard, Berkeley, Chicago, Max Planck and Cardiff, NIST, Centre d'Etudes Atomique, Paris, Institute National d'Optique, Canada to name a few.

What's next?

According to Naylor, more research that refines his current SPIRE device to make it suitable for yet another space mission currently under review by the Japanese, European and Canadian Space Agencies.

The project – SPICA, which stands for Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics – is a next-generation version of the SPIRE device, and would perform a similar function on a space telescope planned to launch in 2022.

Learn more about the SPICA project, here: http://research.uleth.ca/spica/index.php

Naylor said Herschel has been an overwhelming success, but its sensitivity is limited by its 'warm' telescope. "At a temperature of -80K (-193C) this may sound cold, but it limits the achievable sensitivity. By cooling a telescope to -6K (-267C) would increase the sensitivity by an astonishing factor of 100, allowing it to explore a volume of space 1000x greater than Herschel".

Building on the success of Herschel, the Japanese Space Agency JAXA is developing such a cooled telescope. ESA has joined forces with JAXA; in return for ESA providing the telescope and a ground station, European scientists will build one of the flight instruments.

Based on the Herschel experience, an imaging FTS similar to the ones Naylor's group has been building for over two decades has been selected and Naylor has been invited to join the international team that will build the instrument known as SAFARI.

The instrument is similar to one that the U of L team has recently commissioned on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the world's largest submillimetre telescope located atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/JCMT/

The space-based project, SPICA – which stands for Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics – is a next-generation version of the SPIRE device, and would perform a similar function on a space telescope planned to launch in 2022.

In Alberta, a recent and significant collaboration has also been launched with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, where the U of L and the U of C and Athabasca ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ have formed the Institute for Space Imaging Science (ISIS) to work together on projects that take space research further than Herschel technology, whether on the ground or in the atmosphere.

"By nature, physics researchers don't get too excited, but to see these images and know that we're looking at them in a whole new way, and further that we'll be able to share this information with the public so they can learn about the origins of the universe, is truly exciting," Naylor said.

He estimates that more than 200 papers have already been produced using data from the Herschel mission, and approximately half of those have Canadian co-authors.

The geographical distribution of SPIRE science within Canada is broad with authors affiliated with the following universities/institutions: UBC, Calgary, CFHT, HIA/UVic, Laval, Lethbridge, McMaster, Toronto, Waterloo. As well, a large group of researchers, including more than 30 post docs, undergrad and grad students have conducted research using SPIRE data.

An example of the type of imaging and discoveries made possible by the Herschel Space Observatory can be found here:

Comet 'Demolition Derby' Creates New Information About Solar System Origin

Compelling new images from the Herschel Space Telescope – parked more than 1.5 million kilometres from earth and facing into deep space -- are showing researchers what the formation of our solar system must have looked like at its early stages: a violent, comet-laden disk of debris where thousands of 1 km wide chunks of ice collide and spin around a young star.

http://oshi.esa.int/#list=/images.html?q=pillars;detail=image.html?id=89

The images are made possible in part by technology created by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers, and designed and built by an international consortium of space agencies, universities and research institutes.

http://www.uleth.ca/notice/display.html?b=300&s=17611

Horns swimming in top-10

trevor.kenney — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:27:05 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's swim team has cracked the 2012 CIS Top-10 swim rankings for the first time in more than 10 years.

Fresh off an excellent performance at the Dino ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Invitational in Calgary last weekend, the 'Horns have jumped into the seventh spot nationally. The Dino meet continued a run of positive early season results.

Highlighting the weekend for the men's side was a third place finish in the 200-metre medlay relay. The 'Horns were just behind CIS powers UBC Thunderbirds and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos. The team of Nick Vander Sloot, Jeff Nicol, Ryan Thornley and Tiha Konyves set a new school record by more than two seconds and beat the defending CIS bronze medalist ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Golden Bears.

The 'Horns also finished fourth in the 200-metre free relay, breaking the school's best time by more than a second. The team of Vander Sloot, Thornley, Konyves and Hunter Scott finished with a time of 1:34.52.

"It was a good start to the season for us against some of the top teams in the CIS," says first-year Pronghorn head coach Peter Schori. "Canada West is the toughest swimming conference in the country and we are closing the gap between us and the top schools."

To date, the 'Horns have 18 qualifiers (10 men and 8 women) for the Canada West Championships that will be hosted by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria, Jan. 25-27, 2013. Five Pronghorn men have also already qualified for the CIS Championships in February.

Following are the current CIS rankings.

MEN'S SWIMMING
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Toronto 610 points / (1)
2. Calgary 603 / (2)
3. UBC 263 / (NR)
4. Laval 260 / (3)
5. Alberta 218 / (8)
6. Montreal 170 / (4)
7. Lethbridge 160 / (NR)
8. McGill 148 / (5)
9. Ottawa 113 / (7)
10. McMaster 105 / (9)

WOMEN'S SWIMMING
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Calgary 399 points / (3)
2. Montreal 368 / (1)
3. Toronto 365 / (4)
4. UBC 354 / (NR)
5. McGill 249 / (2)
6. Alberta 157 / (9)
7. UQTR 149 / (6)
8. McMaster 126 / (5)
9. Guelph 104 / (7)
10. Dalhousie 103 / (NR)

Horns rugby tops rankings

trevor.kenney — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:40:48 +0000

The best team in the country for the past three years has the respect of a nation as a new women's rugby season dawns later this month.

The three-time defending national champion ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns top the first Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women's rugby Top 10 rankings of the 2010 season.

The Pronghorns, who captured a third consecutive Monilex Trophy last fall thanks to a 20-3 gold-medal triumph over St. Francis Xavier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, received 69 points in the inaugural rugby coaches poll of 2010.

Guelph Gryphons (63 points), who have claimed CIS bronze each of the past three years, go into the new season ranked second, while StFX (62 points) is rated third.

Rounding out the Top 10 are No. 4 Concordia (44), No. 5 Laval (38), No. 6 Alberta (34), No. 7 Western (25), No. 8 UBC (24), No. 9 McMaster (20) and No. 10 Queen's (10).

The CIS women's rugby regular schedule kicks off this weekend with 10 games in Ontario, Quebec and the AUS, while conference play in Canada West starts on Sept. 24. Lethbridge opens the defence of its CIS title at Victoria on the Sept. 24.

Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will host the CIS championship in Peterborough, Ont., from Nov. 4 to 7.

Patzer, Langevin earn national awards

trevor.kenney — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:36:38 +0000

Fifth-year ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge fly-half/fullback Ashley Patzer was named player of the year in Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's rugby for the second time in her career, Thursday night.

The Lethbridge native, who was first honoured in 2006, became the third double MVP since women's rugby was added to the CIS program back in 1998. St. Francis Xavier's Ghislaine Landry earned back-to-back MVP nods in 2007 and 2008, while Alberta's Heather Denkhaus claimed the trophy in 1999 and was a co-recipient in 2000.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ashley Patzer, Lethbridge

Patzer is one of the most decorated players in the short history of CIS women's rugby. The five-foot-two Pronghorns captain was named CIS rookie of the year in 2005, was chosen MVP of last year's CIS championship when she guided the Pronghorns to their second straight national title, and is now a two-time CIS player of the year (2009, 2006) and four-time all-Canadian (2009, 2007, 2006, 2005).

In her fifth and final university campaign, Patzer tallied a Canada West-best 40 points in four outings – four tries, seven converts, two penalty goals – as the Pronghorns cruised through the regular season outscoring their rivals by a 217-7 margin over four wins. In the playoffs, the 22-year-old was named game MVP of the conference final after she scored 15 points on a try, two drop goals and a pair of converts to lead Lethbridge to a 30-0 win over Alberta and a fourth straight Canada West banner.

A third-year kinesiology student at Lethbridge, Patzer is a member of Canada's senior and sevens national teams. In 2006, she captained the Canadian U19 squad to a win over England.

"Ashley has reinforced her reputation as an all-round phenom," said Lethbridge head coach Neil Langevin. "To call her dynamic would be an understatement. She has continued to be an inspirational leader for her teammates and has developed to be one of the top players in the world."

StFX's Ghislaine Landry, Laval's Claudiane Renaud and McMaster's Nina Bui were the other nominees for CIS MVP honours.

Other CIS major award winners announced during the All-Canadian Gala include Concordia's Hughanna Gaw of Elgin, Que., who was named the nation's top freshman, Bishop's Frances Bajdik-Bova of Ottawa, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service award, and Lethbridge's Neil Langevin, who was named coach of the year, an award presented by Coaches of Canada.

COACH OF THE YEAR: presented by Coaches of Canada: Neil Langevin, Lethbridge

Langevin became the first coach from a Canada West program to be named CIS coach of the year.

In his 10th campaign at the helm, Langevin guided the Pronghorns to a 4-0 regular season record, a 2-0 playoff mark including a 30-0 win over five-time national champion Alberta in the gold-medal final, and a fourth straight conference banner. In six Canada West meetings, Lethbridge outscored its opponents 333-7. On Sept. 12, the 'Horns also travelled to Antigonish, N.S., where they scored a 17-12 exhibition victory over the 12-time AUS champion StFX X-Women in a rematch of last year's CIS final, won 29-15 by Lethbridge.

The only head coach in Pronghorns history and a two-time Canada West coach of the year (2009, 2002), Langevin led his troops to the podium in each of their four previous CIS championship appearances including a bronze medal in 2003, silver in 2006 and back-to-back Monilex trophy triumphs in 2007 and 2008. A schoolteacher in the Lethbridge School District, he served as head coach of Canada's senior national team from 2004 to 2007 – including a fourth-place finish at the Rugby World Cup in 2006 – and was at the helm of the Canadian U23 squad in 2003.

"Neil has done a wonderful job building a program that we are very proud of," said Lethbridge executive director of sport and recreation Sandy Slavin. "Neil and his staff have worked tirelessly over the years, building a championship calibre team from scratch."

Saint Mary's Dawn MacDonald, Bishop's Eryn Hessian and McMaster's Sandro Fiorino were named coach of the year in the AUS, QSSF and OUA, respectively, in 2009.

ALL-CANADIAN TEAM

The all-Canadian team was also announced on Thursday with both Ashley Patzer and teammate Ashley MacDonald being named from the Pronghorns. It is the second straight honour for MacDonald and fourth overall for Patzer.

Pronghorns ready for CIS challenge

trevor.kenney — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:05:57 +0000

The two-time defending champion ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns will have to get by a number of usual suspects in order to capture a third consecutive CIS women's rugby title, beginning Friday in Vancouver.

The 12th annual CIS tournament, hosted for the first time by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia, gets under way Friday morning with six round robin matchups, culminating on Sunday afternoon with the gold medal final.

Joining Canada West champion Lethbridge in Vancouver are the AUS champion St. Francis Xavier X-Women, OUA champion Guelph Gryphons, QSSF champion Concordia Stingers, OUA finalist Western Ontario Mustangs, as well as the tournament host UBC Thunderbirds.

Lethbridge, Concordia and Western will battle in Pool A on Friday, while StFX, Guelph and UBC hope to make it out of Pool B. The top two teams from each group at the end of round-robin play advance to the semi-finals.

In Pool A, the Pronghorns will face a familiar foe and a new rival.

Lethbridge and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Western Ontario, which lost 39-7 to Guelph in the OUA final last weekend, have battled no less than five times over the past three years at the CIS tourney, with the 'Horns holding a 3-2 edge including a 2-0 advantage in the medal round. They'll meet at 11 a.m. (MT) Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Lethbridge and Concordia ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will square off for the very first time at the CIS tourney Friday at 4 p.m. (MT), in the third and final Pool A duel.

The Stingers, whose best result at the national championship is a fourth-place finish in the inaugural tournament back in 1998, booked their ticket for Vancouver with a 13-10 overtime win on the road over previously undefeated Laval in the Quebec final.

The Pronghorns enjoyed another sensational season in 2009. The defending champs outscored their Canada West opponents 333-7 in six overall duels, including a 30-0 win over the five-time national champion Alberta Pandas in the conference final, en route to a fourth straight Canada West banner.

The Pronghorns' toughest opposition might come from Pool B as St. Francis Xavier and Guelph also come into the championship with perfect conference records and have been ranked just behind Lethbridge in the coaches' poll. Both the X-Women and Gryphons have revenge on their minds, as they fell to Lethbridge in last year's CIS final and semifinal round, respectively.

SSN Canada will have live webcasts of Saturday's semifinals at noon and 2 p.m. (MT), as well as Sunday's bronze-medal game at 1 p.m. and championship match at 3 p.m.

Pronghorns debut at No. 1

trevor.kenney — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:59:25 +0000

They left the field last fall as two-time defending champions and bolstered their lineup over the summer. So it was no surprise the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns women's rugby team debuted at the top of the rankings when Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) released its first-ever women's rugby rankings this week.

The Pronghorns, who defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Women in last year's CIS final to become the first team to capture back-to-back Monilex trophies since Alberta in 2002 and 2003, received 88 points in the inaugural coaches poll.

St. FX, which claimed its lone CIS title in 2006 and has won 11 conference titles in 11 years since women's rugby was added to the AUS program in 1998, is ranked No. 2 with 69 points.

Following in order are 2008 CIS bronze medallist and OUA champion Guelph (65), reigning QSSF champion Laval (48), five-time CIS titlist Alberta (47), two-time Monilex trophy winner Western Ontario (46), McMaster (25), Concordia (22), Trent (13) and UBC (11).

The 2009 regular season kicks off this weekend with nine games in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. Canada West squads join the action on Sept. 25, with Lethbridge opening its title defence at home against Calgary on Sept. 26. That game will be part of the weekend festivities surrounding the opening of the new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Community Sports Stadium.

The six-team CIS championship will be hosted by UBC in Vancouver, Nov. 5-8.

WOMEN'S RUGBY
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Lethbridge (0-0) / 88 points / (-)
2. StFX (0-0) / 69 / (-)
3. Guelph (0-0) / 65 / (-)
4. Laval (0-0) / 48 / (-)
5. Alberta (0-0) / 47 / (-)
6. Western Ontario (0-0) / 46 / (-)
7. McMaster (0-0) / 25 / (-)
8. Concordia (0-0) / 22 / (-)
9. Trent (0-0) / 13 / (-)
10. UBC (0-0) / 11 / (-)

Other teams receiving votes: Brock (7), McGill (4), Queen's (2), Saint Mary's (1).

UNews - Laval

Herschel Mission Operating Phase Wrapping Up

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