Auteur/autrice : Stephane BASA

COLIBRI Inauguration

COLIBRI Inauguration

The COLIBRI ground-based telescope unveiled its first images at its inauguration on September 7, 2024 at the San Pedro Mártir National Astronomical Observatory, Mexico. Designed as part of the SVOM space mission, the outstandingly fast telescope will be able to detect gamma-ray bursts, as well as other transient astronomical phenomena. The project is the result of close collaboration between France and Mexico, and is supported by the Aix-Marseille University, the CNRS, the French space agency CNES, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology.

The COLIBRI ground-based telescope has the remarkable ability to detect and record random flashes of light in the sky lasting just a few seconds. Designed as part of the SVOM space mission, whose goal is to identify and investigate gamma-ray bursts, this unique instrument, the only one of its kind in the world, will help astrophysicists to attempt to answer a host of questions relating to the study of transient astronomical phenomena,  (such as the identification of the astrophysical objects at the origin of gravitational waves, and the sources of high-energy cosmic neutrinos), as well as helping them to understand the early Universe (in particular the identification of the first generation of stars and the study of the first galaxies).

Standing four metres high and weighing eight tonnes, COLIBRI can be pointed at any region of the sky in under 20 seconds. It is equipped with a 1.30 metre mirror and three cameras for simultaneous observations in the visible and infrared range. This robotic telescope carries out observations and surveys without human intervention, using an observation programme, thus further increasing its responsiveness and lowering operating costs.

To date, COLIBRI is the only astrophysics research facility jointly run by France and Mexico, and follows on from a long tradition of collaboration between the two countries, recently consolidated in the form of an International Research Project.

The telescope was fully assembled at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence and its performance tested through field trial for over a year before being shipped to Mexico. COLIBRI is installed at the San Pedro Mártir National Astronomical Observatory, Mexico, where it was inaugurated on September 7 and delivered its first images.

Infrastructure à l’OHP

Infrastructure à l’OHP

Les travaux pour l’infrastructure de test du télescope à l’OHP ont débuté à la mi-octobre.

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