A July 14 press release by the College draws attention to a recent report by Dartmouth astronomy professor Robert Fesen proposing the use of high-altitude airships for the purpose of astronomical observance. The airships, which are currently being developed for military and telecommunications purposes, would fly high enough to avoid most atmospheric image distortion and would be cheaper than orbital telescopes.
Fesen proposed a "Hubble Junior" airship-mounted telescope which would fly at 85,000 feet, above 95 percent of the atmosphere.
"High-altitude airships are currently being developed for telecommunications and for the military," Fesen said in the press release. "I want people to begin thinking about the possibility of doing first-rate optical science like that done from Hubble but at stratospheric altitudes like that flown by the U2 airplane and at a cost of a few million dollars rather than a few billion."
Fesen's proposed Hubble Junior would consist of two solar-powered, blimp-shaped balloons strapped to each other like a catamaran and driven by propellers. The airship would carry a half-meter to one-meter telescope mirror, which Fesen said could produce images that would be nearly as sharp as images from the older and larger Hubble Space Telescope.
"A one-meter-mirror telescope Hubble Junior, although not as powerful as the real Hubble, could complement Hubble's contributions to our understanding of the heavens," Fesen said in the press release. "And since it would be more nimble because it's closer to home and simpler to operate, a Hubble Junior could react faster to and follow unexpected supernova explosions, close flybys of asteroids, and other transient astronomical events."
Fesen also advocated using airships in a paper presented at a conference sponsored by the International Society for Optical Engineering in late May.
Microsoft invited three Dartmouth professors to participate in the 2006 Microsoft Research Faculty Summit on July 17 to 18. Computer science professor Andrew Campbell, engineering professor Edmond Cooley and engineering professor Joseph Rosen joined approximately 350 other academics from 175 institutions at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus.
The invitation-only event mixed academics and Microsoft researchers in discussions about research trends and computing issues. This year's theme was "Computing at the Center of Transformation."
Rosen, who is also a plastic surgeon at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, discussed his project to develop a network-centric telemedicine system in Vietnam to help improve its health care.
"We're using the general concept behind E-ticket check-in machines at airports: standardized, ubiquitous, electronic devices designed to be user-friendly," Rosen said in a press release. "I think Microsoft liked the fact that we want to utilize cell phones and small hand-held computers in a new way."
