Naylor honoured for work on Herschel

trevor.kenney — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 21:36:00 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Dr. David Naylor will receive a Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) award for outstanding contribution to astronomy as part of the Herschel-SPIRE Consortium.

Dr. David Naylor was the Canadian lead on the eight-nation team that comprised the Herschel-SPIRE Consortium.

Naylor (physics and astronomy), the Canadian lead on the Herschel-SPIRE Consortium, and his group are being honoured with the Group Achievement Award for achievement by a large consortium in astronomy. The RAS medals and awards for 2014 were announced Jan. 10, 2014 and will be presented at the 2014 National Astronomy Meeting to be held in Portsmouth, England in June 2014.

“Through his work with the SPIRE consortium, Dr. Naylor has played a leadership role on an initiative that will have a lasting impact for decades,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Vice-President (Research) Dr. Dan Weeks. “This recognition is well-deserved and is yet another example of the world leading research that happens at the U of L.”

The award represents recognition by the astronomical community of the outstanding success of the SPIRE instrument, which observed the universe at far infrared wavelengths, a few hundred times longer than the wavelengths of visible light. The international team was responsible for the design, construction and delivery of the instrument as part of the instrument suite for the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory.

SPIRE was co-developed by Naylor and a team of researchers who led Canada’s contribution to the Herschel project on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency.

“We’re delighted to receive see this award from the Royal Astronomical Society. Astronomy is a science driven by advances in technology. Nowhere is this more true than in the technically challenging wavelength range observed by Herschel,” says Naylor. “Having spent well over a decade working on the SPIRE instrument it felt like a member of our family when it was launched, and it is fair to say that it has exceeded all expectations. Some would argue that it is one of the most successful space astronomy projects of all time.”

The Herschel satellite was launched in 2009 and operated very successfully for four years. By virtue of its unparalleled sensitivity and unique capabilities, the results obtained using SPIRE have been felt across a broad swath of astrophysics and in particular in detailed studies of star formation in the local universe and extending out to very distant objects.

“SPIRE has been a truly international endeavour, with 18 institutes in eight countries participating, and countless talented people with wide ranging expertise contributing to building and operating the instrument,” says Professor Matt Griffin, from Cardiff ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, who led the international SPIRE team. “This Group Achievement award for is a fitting tribute to the success of their efforts.”

The Royal Astronomical Society, founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its more than 3,500 members include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories, as well as historians of astronomy and others.

SPIRE earns international award

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 22:20:47 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge physics research team and a Lethbridge-based high tech data processing company are among the collective group of people behind the Herschel Space Telescope's Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) instrument, which has been awarded the prestigious 2013 Sir Arthur Clarke Award for academic study and research.

The award is in recognition of the scientific achievements of the SPIRE instrument, which was designed, built and operated by an international team of astronomers, scientists and engineers.

SPIRE was co-developed by Dr. David Naylor (physics and astronomy) and a team of researchers who led Canada's contribution to the Herschel project on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency.

Blue Sky Spectroscopy, a Lethbridge-based, high tech company, is one of the three international Data Processing and Science Analysis Software centres for the SPIRE instrument. 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.

Over a four-year mission period, Herschel -- the largest, most powerful infrared telescope ever flown in space -- made extraordinary discoveries across a wide range of topics, from starburst galaxies in the distant Universe to newly forming planetary systems orbiting nearby young stars. SPIRE is one of three devices attached to the Herschel telescope system.

"SPIRE detects 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," says Naylor.

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 travel. 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. Herschel operated until the end of its scientific mission on Apr. 29, 2013.

A multi-year data analysis period is now taking place.

The award was collected on behalf of the team by Tanya Lim, of the UK-based STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

"A lot of people from both science and engineering disciplines have dedicated up to 15 years of their lives of making SPIRE a scientific success," says Lim. "It is wonderful that we can all share in this award and we are very grateful for receiving it."

The UK team is led by Naylor's colleague Matt Griffin, of Cardiff ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Wales.

"Building and operating SPIRE has taken many years of effort by a lot of very talented people in our multi-national team. They are rightly proud of the scientific success of Herschel and SPIRE, and they are delighted to win this award."

The Sir Arthur Clarke awards are presented annually in recognition of notable or outstanding achievements in, or contributions to, all space activities. They are organized by the Arthur C Clarke Foundation and the British Interplanetary Society, and this year were presented during the conference dinner at the UK Space Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The full list of 2013 winners are available on the British Interplanetary Society website.

This is the second Sir Arthur Clarke Award for the SPIRE team, with Matt Griffin receiving the award for individual achievement in 2010.

UNews - Matt Griffin

Naylor honoured for work on Herschel

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