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Press Release
ABB to build an innovative astronomical measuring instrument  A $2.3 million contract awarded by Laval University for the construction of a new type of optical instrument for astrophysical research in order to broaden our knowledge of the formation of galaxies and stars and the evolution of the universe.
Québec City, Canada, September 26, 2011 – ABB, the leader in power and automation technologies, has been granted a $2.3 million contract from Laval University for the SITELLE (Spectromètre Imageur à Transformée de Fourier pour l’Étude en Long en Large de raies d’ Émission – Wide-field Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer) project. The instrument, which incorporates a number of leading-edge technologies, will be installed on the renowned Canada-France-Hawaii (CFH) telescope, which is one of the most scientifically productive telescopes in the world, located 4,200 metres above sea level at the top of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island.
In building this measuring instrument, ABB will work in close collaboration with Dr. Laurent Drissen’s team at Laval University. It will open to the heavens for the first time in the spring of 2013, and will be able to analyze light coming from space with a power that no other spectro-imager used in astronomy provides.
SITELLE is an improved version of the SpIOMM (Spectromètre imageur de l’Observatoire du Mont Mégantic – Mont Mégantic Observatory Imaging Spectrometer) that was developed jointly by Laval University, the Canadian Space Agency and ABB. Following impressive results obtained by SpIOMM at Mont Mégantic, the Canadian astronomy community recommended the development and construction of SITELLE for the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. “We are very proud to have been chosen by Laval University for this important contribution to the CFH telescope. This technology is the fruit of numerous cooperative efforts between Laval University, the Canadian Space Agency and ABB. We are convinced that SITELLE will lead to major discoveries that will benefit the scientific community,” according to Marc-André Soucy, Manager of the Remote Sensing Business Sector at ABB.
SITELLE will also benefit Canadian astronomers and the international astronomy community. In fact, some of its technological advances may be found in a similar instrument planned for the new generation of weather satellites used to predict hurricanes and tornadoes and measure environmental pollution.
Unlike the majority of scientists, an astronomer does not have direct access to the objects being researched. With only a few exceptions (solar wind particles, lunar samples, meteorites and some cosmic rays), all of the information coming from the universe is carried to us by light. One of the greatest challenges of astronomy consists of using high-performance instruments to extract the maximum amount of information from photons that have traveled through space for thousands or even billions of years. This is precisely what SITELLE will do with unmatched effectiveness.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable its utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering their environmental impact. The ABB group of companies operates in some 100 countries and employs approximately 130,000 people.
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