Lecture focuses on new telescope

The promise of a major new astronomical observatory, the Southern African Large Telescope or SALT, will be the subject of a public lecture Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Astronomy professor Kenneth H. Nordsieck, will give the free 7 p.m. talk at Space Place, 1605 S. Park St., in Madison.

Nordsieck plans to describe the capabilities and science programs for the 10-meter telescope that, when completed, will be the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere.

The telescope is being constructed by a consortium that includes UW–Madison and is scheduled for completion in 2004. Once built, the telescope will permit scientists to peer deep into the universe, observe as many as 100 objects at a time and gather critical new insights into the menagerie of objects that populate the cosmos.