Updates

March 2011: The Hobby-Eberly Telescope is about to get a facelift.

In the summer of 2011, engineers will lop off the package of mirrors, instruments, and electronics sitting 60 feet above its primary mirror and replace it with one that is heavier and more sophisticated. The replacement will give the giant telescope a wider yet sharper view of the sky and support a new set of powerful instruments that will allow it to begin probing the mystery of dark energy.

The technological rhinoplasty is part of an extensive telescope upgrade for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), which is scheduled to begin full science operations in 2012. More

June 2009: Getting a Jump

While engineers prepare the 150 planned VIRUS units for HETDEX observations, several University of Texas graduate students are putting the prototype, known as VIRUS-P, to use on a variety of research projects. They are using its wide field of view and its 280 optical fibers to produce detailed looks at the structure and composition of galaxies, nebulae, and other objects. More

HETDEX in the News

"The Final Frontier," by Karen Olsson, Texas Monthly, April 2008

"Cosmic Efforts Shed Light on Dark Universe," by David Bradley; StarDate, July/August 2007

"Sailing Into the Dark," by Gary Hill; Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 8, 2007

"In Pursuit of Knowledge"; Austin American-Statesman, April 1, 2007

"UT Receives $5M Grant to Study Dark Energy"; Austin Business Journal, April 27, 2006

"Feature: Dark Energy," by Patrick Brendel; FOCUS on Science, Spring 2007