If one telescope is good, 35 is most assuredly better. That’s the number of networked radio telescopes that just powered up to observe 243 quasars across the universe, according to Space.com.
The goal, in what amounts to a record-breaking effort: “improve the precision of the reference time frame that today’s scientists use to measure positions in the sky,” as well as possibly enhance future Earth-based GPS systems.
Quasars emit powerful radio waves, and are distant enough to appear stationary as seen from our planet, the report said. Scientists will combine data using a technique called very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) to measure celestial positions. (Image credit: U.S. Navy/Naval Oceanography Portal)
