Physics World Focus on Astronomy & Space 2015

Astronomy and space science are littered with incredible achievements – whether landing a probe on a comet or capturing the best image of the cosmic microwave background. This focus issue looks at some of the most exciting developments in both fields. The Event Horizon Telescope, for example, has the ambitious aim of imaging the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, while a planned 40 m-wide starshade would fly in formation with a space telescope to enable imaging of exoplanets. There are challenges to overcome too though – a survey has revealed astronomers’ lack of training in software coding, while Felix J Lockman believes that remote observing does not necessarily produce the best results.

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