Making Every Photon Count

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Making Every Photon Count

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Reminder Why Study Faint Objects?

• Some objects are faint even if nearby
• We want to study rare objects.
• We want to study locations other than our own
  surroundings. What is the universe like
  elsewhere?
• We want to look back in time to the early
  universe.

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How Can We Do It?

• Build bigger telescopes (to collect more light).
• Find the best observing sites on Earth (or in
  space).
• Use ultra-efficient detectors. (Waste no light!)
• Study big fields of view and/or many objects at
  once.
• Use adaptive optics (more on this later).

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Digital vs Analog
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Detectors Collecting the Light
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One Consequence Remote Observing
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Not Just Pictures Getting a Spectrum
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One Problem Image Scale- we need huge detectors!
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A Case in Point My Own Research
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Fossils by the Hundreds
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and Thousands
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A Close-up of the Target
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Multiplexed Observations
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Sometimes Labour-Intensive!
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Another Way
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Result MultiSpectra and some science!