Ken Tapping, January 06, 2010

Here, at the end of 2009, the International Year of Astronomy, it is timely to do some sort of summing up, but how exactly? The answer came in a Christmas card from my sister-in-law, which contained the statement that astronomy "is getting more and more exciting all the time." Well, it is. Let's have a look.

We start with what must be the biggest issue of all: how we connect what we see around us in space today to what we know about the birth and early history of the universe. The latest observations of the remote past show young, primordial galaxies and the first stars. In addition, we have a pretty good idea now as to how these early galaxies merged with one another over time, to yield the galaxies we see today, with merging still going on.

Now we know for sure that our Sun is not unique in having planets. It seems that most stars have them, and even with the difficulty of detecting small, dark objects orbiting bright, distant stars, we have detected nearly 400 planets orbiting stars other than the Sun.

The progress being made in understanding how galaxies work has been astounding. The posters on the walls of the foyer at our observatory underline that. They summarize some of the results of a survey of gas and dust in our galaxy, the Milky Way. This survey has uncovered important facets of how material circulates within our galaxy, and how stars form from this material and then process it to make all the other elements needed to make planets and us.

However, for me, there are three things that are really exciting. The first is how the latest results in the study of other planets are making it possible for us look at their geology, chemistry and climatology. At last we can really compare other planets with our world. The second is how advances in technology are driving new capabilities in astronomy. Our breakthroughs in imaging and information processing are among the most important. The WIDAR signal processing system, being built at DRAO for use on an upgraded major US radio telescope, is an example.

Finally there is the diffusion of many aspects of hi-tech astronomy into the hands of amateur astronomers. Although very few amateurs own a telescope with a lens or mirror more than 0.5 metres in diameter, while professionals have access to telescopes more than ten times larger, the cameras, software and other technical improvements have led amateurs into areas that in the past were believed to be way beyond their reach. Amateurs are discovering new planets orbiting other stars, and exploding stars in distant galaxies. Moreover, the Internet makes it possible for the word to get out quickly, so that the professionals can get into action with large telescopes and more specialized astronomical instruments.

Although the International Year of Astronomy has ended, rapid progress in astronomy will continue. Yes, it is a very exciting field to be in. Happy New Year, and keep looking up!