SDSS Plates
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) employs an innovative approach to mapping the universe using specialized plates. These plates are metal disks with precisely drilled holes that correspond to the positions of celestial objects in the sky. This has been essential for the survey to become the largest and most detailed map of the sky. But, once a plate is used to capture data from the specific objects, it has no further use…
Observing with Plates
When placed at the focal plane of the SDSS telescope, each hole aligns with a specific star, galaxy, or quasar, allowing light from these objects to be channelled into optical fibres for detailed spectral analysis. These fibres need to be connected to the correct holes manually, this requires a lot of work before the actual process of observing the skies begins.
It essentially creates a mask that stops light from any other source and only allows for specific objects to shine through. The creation of these plates has been a essential to allow the SDSS to capture spectra of thousands of objects by allowing for 1000 objects to be detected at the same time.
The three videos below provide more information about how plates are created, plugged and used with the telescope to obtain the spectra of millions of astronomical objects, a thousand at a time.
However, thousands of plates have been produced and after they are successful in measuring the required data from those specific objects, the plate is no longer useful. The Plates for Education initiative takes advantage of this and gives the plates a new purpose after they retire2. SDSS plates provide a fascinating and tangible connection to the cutting-edge science of astronomy, making them an excellent educational resource for classrooms.
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All image credits to SDSS