Sep 7, 2015
Feature Guest: Hilton Lewis
The twin Keck Telescopes of Hawaii are the world’s largest optical
and infrared telescopes. For twenty five years they have turned
their eyes on the farthest and faintest objects in the cosmos,
stacking up a dizzying array of accomplishments: from evidence for
the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own galaxy to a
recent discovery of the most distant galaxy in the observable
universe.
Today Keck Observatory Director Hilton Lewis joins Justin Trottier
at The Star Spot to discuss the life of the most impactful
telescope astronomers possess, and to speculate on the future of
the Keck in the emerging intensely competitive era of giant
telescope astronomy.
Current in Space
Humans have the inate ability to self repair. Now Anuj tell us that
the advent of self healing spacecraft may be close at hand. Comets
are the ultimate fear factor. But while comets do have the ability
to take life, Tony tells us they may also have the power to give
it. And Dave reports on the closest known quasar, the product of
the battle of two cosmological giants.
About Our Guest
The career of Hilton Lewis has grown alongside that of the Keck
observatory. Lewis has been a member of the Keck team since the
project’s launch in 1986. From his original job designing and
developing the software that controls the Keck he would be promoted
to many senior positions, then appointed Deputy Director in 2002
and Director in 2014. Lewis earned a degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from the
University of Hawai’i at Manoa.