Using a satellite the size of a suitcase, a UBC researcher hopes to provide clues to one of astronomy’s most fundamental questions: How old is the universe? “With a relatively small amount of money and a very small satellite, we’re going to address a large and fundamental question about the history of our universe. And we will do this using a telescope no bigger than those used by backyard stargazers,” says Jaymie Matthews, an assistant professor in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy and principal investigator of the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) project. MOST will be Canada’s first space telescope.

Once launched in 2000 or 2001, Matthews’ 50-kilogram satellite will turn its
small telescope at one after another stellar target for a period of six or
seven weeks each. With its collecting mirror of about 15 centimetres across,
the telescope will collect information on the “ringing” of stars.

This ringing, or oscillating, is caused by sound waves bouncing around
inside the star, whose paths are modified by the temperature and composition
of gases through which they travel.

Armed with these data, the team of MOST astronomers led by Matthews hopes to
measure the ages of some of the oldest stars in our galaxy, setting a
meaningful limit on the age of the universe itself.

Efforts to measure the tiny oscillations of other Sun-like stars using a
series of land-based telescopes are problematic because of atmospheric
noise.

The MOST project represents a major breakthrough in the way microsatellites
are used for space science, Matthews says. Because of their small size,
microsatellites have traditionally been quite difficult to point accurately,
making it useless to put a telescope aboard one.

This microsatellite can be positioned and repositioned from Earth thanks to
four small spinning, gyroscope-like wheels. These “reaction wheels” are the
only moving parts in the satellite and, when made to spin in varying
directions by the Earth-based controller, cause the satellite to change
orientation.

The $11-million project is a joint effort involving UBC, Dynacon Enterprises
Ltd., and the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. MOST is
a mission proposed under the Small Payloads Program, sponsored by the
Canadian Space Agency’s Space Science Branch. Project approval from the CSA
is contingent on approval of all funding contributions.