DASI’s destination

Workers prepare the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer for its long journey from campus to the South Pole. A Chicago research team led by John Carlstrom, Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics, and Mark Dragovan, Senior Scientist in Astronomy & Astrophysics, will use the array of 13 telescopes to take detailed images of the cosmic microwave background radiation––the big bang’s afterglow––to help them test theories of the origin and evolution of the universe. The $4 million instrument, funded by the National Science Foundation, will begin collecting data by February 2000 at the South Pole, where the clear, dry skies provide the best viewing conditions.