Astronomy Instrumentation
BLAST and its ballon on the launch pad at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
(Photo by M. Halpern)
The Astronomy Instrumentation Group (AIG) of Cardiff University is one of the largest in the UK (with over 40 members of academic, research and technical staff and post-graduate students). We specialize in the design and construction of astronomical instrumentation, especially at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths, for ground and space-based observatories and for studies of the Cosmic Microwave Background.
The AIG plays a major role in the design, development and implementation of instrument advances for future FIR astronomy, focussing on detector development, quasi-optical component design, cryogenic coolers and electronics and FTS spectroscopy.
Research Areas
We currently work in the following research areas:
- Cosmic Wave Background (CMB)
- Observational Cosmology
- Active Galactic Nuclei and Jets (in collaberation with the School's Galaxies Group)
- Star Formation
- Earth Observing
- Cryogenics
- Detectors
- Quasi Optics