A full-scale model of a space telescope which, when in orbit, should be able to see the edge of the universe, has touched down in Dublin.
The 80ft (24.38m) model came to earth at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, where it will remain on public display for two months.
The real James Webb space telescope (JWST) will not be launched until 2013, but when it does go into orbit it will carry a little bit of Ireland. Scientists from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies are part of a 10-country European consortium building Miri, one of the experiments to be carried on the telescope.
"We are immensely proud to be involved in this exciting new project," the institute's Prof Tom Ray said yesterday. The model was brought over from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington to mark a meeting of participants in the telescope project at the Royal Hospital this week. The initiative is funded jointly by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and the European and Canadian space agencies.
The meeting will involve 300 international scientists and space technology companies, who will discuss progress on the telescope.
Dr John Mather, JWST chief project scientist and 2006 Nobel Prize winner, was also at the Royal Hospital. He will deliver two public lectures during the week, including one at Trinity College this evening organised by The Irish Times, the Royal Irish Academy and Depfa Bank. He will also give a public lecture on Thursday June 14th, organised by the institute which also plays host for this week's meeting at the Royal Hospital.
Prof Ray was instrumental in bringing the JWST review meeting to Dublin. "It is important for Ireland because it emphasises that there is Irish involvement in a major international project," he said. "It shows our expertise is equal to the best of them."
The giant 80ft by 40ft by 40ft model is impressive. However, the real space instrument will be an engineering marvel when built and launched.
The Webb telescope will be many times more sensitive than the soon to be retired Hubble space telescope, which orbits several hundred miles overhead and will be located a million miles into space.
This is necessary because the highly-sensitive instruments will have to be kept at a temperature of minus 270 degrees in order to operate properly.
One of the telescope's key roles will be in discovering new planets and improving our understanding of how stars form, Prof Ray said.
Newly formed planets tend to be very hot and Miri (Mid-Infrared Instrument) will be able to see the heat given off by new planets and infant stars.