Core of new deep space camera is ‘the coldest cubic metre in the universe’

Core of new deep space camera is ‘the coldest cubic metre in the universe’:

'via Blog this'

The heart of the SCUBA-2 astronomy camera unveiled Tuesday at the top of Mauna Kea summit in Hawaii is cooled to just one-tenth of one degree above absolute zero.

Scientists from the University of British Columbia designed and constructed the electronics that take data from a camera that can discern objects in deep space by detecting long wavelengths of light that are invisible to humans and even sophisticated optical cameras. But in order to “see” these very faint so-called submillimetre wavelengths, the camera must be cooled to -273.05 C to eliminate interference from local earthbound energy sources, making it “the coldest cubic metre in the universe,” according to UBC astronomer Mark Halpern. “That’s about 30 times colder than anything found in nature.”