INNOVATION July-August 2018

F E A T U R E

UNIVERSE ALEX B. LEBLANC B C E N G I N E E R S L E A D I N A D A P T I N G A N D D E S I G N I N G T E L E S C O P E T E C H N O L O G Y W hen the Plaskett Telescope, near Victoria, BC, began collecting starlight in May 1918, it launched Canada on a trajectory of world-class research in astronomy and astrophysics. Astronomers have used the 1.8-metre reflecting telescope, which is named for its first advocate and director, John Stanley Plaskett, to study stars and star clusters, define the size, shape and rotation of the Milky Way, determine how to detect planets circling distant stars, and track asteroids that could threaten Earth.

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I N N O V A T I O N