Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – The University of Sheffield has recently announced its support for the construction of the largest solar telescope in Europe, which aims to provide unprecedented insights into space weather phenomena. The European Solar Telescope (EST) project, initiated in 2008, seeks to unravel the mysteries behind solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which significantly impact space weather and can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth, visible as the mesmerizing northern lights.
Taking the lead in the United Kingdom Universities Consortium (UKUC), the University of Sheffield has officially signed the agreement with the EST’s Canary Foundation in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. This collaborative effort involves six UK universities, including Aberystwyth, Belfast, Durham, Exeter, and Glasgow, along with six other European countries, all committing to the construction of the remarkable telescope. The chosen location for this groundbreaking project is the esteemed El Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, situated at La Palma in Spain.
Heading the UKUC project is Professor Robertus von Fay-Siebenburgen, hailing from the University of Sheffield’s School of Mathematics and Statistics. He has been appointed as one of the principal investigators for the UKUC project and expressed his enthusiasm for the endeavor. Professor von Fay-Siebenburgen highlighted that the EST will be the most substantial ground-based solar telescope ever constructed in Europe, positioning its European partners at the forefront of solar physics research. The collaboration between numerous UK institutions and European countries exemplifies the collective commitment to advancing solar science and reaping the potential benefits of such groundbreaking research.
“This kind of unrivalled research infrastructure will provide European astronomers and plasma-astrophysicists with an extraordinary tool for observing the Sun and its space weather, one that will pave the way for scientific advancements in some of the world’s biggest and most important challenges, such as the development of green fusion energy,” he said.
Other scientists pointed out the significance of the telescope in gaining better understanding of the solar system with the events that take place within it.
