Plenary sessions from SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2016

Studying the Birth and the Fate of the Universe Using Multi-Object Spectroscopy
Hitoshi Murayama, University of California, Berkeley and University of Tokyo

Using multi-object spectroscopy to study the birth and the fate of the universe.

Gravitational Wave Astronomy: Opening New Windows on the Universe
Martin Hendry, University of Glasgow

The history and current status of the emerging field of gravitational-wave astronomy.

Landing on a Comet
Monica Grady, The Open University

The dramatic story of the European Space Agency's comet-chaser Rosetta mission.

Let There Be Light: The Observational Quest for the First Galaxies
Richard Ellis, European Southern Observatory

Rapid progress is being made in detailed spectroscopy of the Universe.

Today's Visions, Tomorrow's Telescopes
George Helou, California Institute of Technology

A look into telescopes of the future and how they will provide a view "into the invisible" and how the Universe came to be in its current state and how it is held together.

From LOFAR to SKA: The New Era of Radio Astronomy
Raffaella Morganti, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy and University of Groningen (Netherlands)

Innovative instrument designs are being adopted to broaden the capabilities of new radio telescopes.

Surveying the Sky with the LSST: Software as the Instrument of the Next Decade
Andrew Connolly, University of Washington (USA)

The LSST will potentially study the nature of dark matter and dark energy, measure the properties of our Galaxy, and create a census of our Solar System.