A powerful Earth-based telescope will see more and more clearly than the Hubble Space Telescope

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This computer model shows what MAVIS will look like on the VLT Unit Telescope 4 (Yepun) telescope platform at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The boxes indicate the different subunits of the tool. Credit: Macquarie University

Australian scientists will help build one of the world’s most powerful ground-based telescopes that promise to see farther and clearer than the Hubble Space Telescope and unlock the mysteries of the early universe.

The team will develop a new instrument, a world first that produces images three times more powerful than Hubble, as part of the multi-million dollar project.

The MAVIS instrument will be installed in one of the unit’s eight-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s Large Telescope (ESO) in Chile, to remove blurring from telescope images caused by turbulence in Earth’s atmosphere. MAVIS will be built over seven years at a cost of $57 million.

The MAVIS consortium is led by the Australian National University (ANU), and includes Macquarie University, the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), and the French Laboratory of Astrophysics (LAM).

The atmospheric turbulence is similar to the phenomenon of foggy objects appearing on the horizon during a hot day, said Professor Francois Rigaud, MAVIS principal investigator, of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“MAVIS will remove this blur and provide sharp images as if a telescope was in space, helping us look back at the early universe by pushing the cosmic boundaries of what is visible,” he said.

“The ability to deliver corrected optical images, across a wide field of view using one of the largest telescopes in the world, is what makes MAVIS the first instrument of its kind, and means we will be able to observe very distant and faint objects.

“We will be able to use the new technology to explore how the first stars formed 13 billion years ago, as well as how the weather has changed on the planets and moons in our solar system.”

Professor Richard McDermid, MAVIS Project Scientist at Macquarie University, said the project marked a milestone for Australia’s growing relationship with ESO, and the country’s space research and work.

“MAVIS demonstrates that Australia can not only participate in the scientific life of the observatory, but can also be a key player in helping ESO maintain its leadership by developing unique and competitive instruments using Australian expertise,” he said.

Professor Matthew Collis, director of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, said the next decade represents a very exciting time for astronomy.

“ESO and Australia entered into a 10-year strategic partnership in 2017, a partnership that the Australian astronomy community has embraced with enthusiasm,” he said.

“In return for building MAVIS, the consortium will receive guaranteed monitoring time with the device, as well as a financial contribution from ESO for its devices.

From space, with the likes of the James Webb Space Telescope, and with terrestrial facilities such as the Very Large Outer Space Telescope, astronomers will explore the universe in greater depth than ever before.

“By providing the maximum visibility possible using visible light, MAVIS will be a unique and powerful complement to these future large facilities, which target infrared wavelengths.”

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