Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 57 | Page 50

COUNTRY FOCUS : ISRAEL
Recognised as one of the most technologically influential countries in the world , Israel is a pioneer for digital savviness and innovation across Europe ’ s tech sector . Here we take a look at three examples of how Israel is changing the face of the technology landscape and laying the foundations for an IT revolution .

Evidence of innovation in Isr country is spearheading IT d

Panorama of Jerusalem city during the night

uULTRASAT Space Telescope to launch Israel to astronomical research forefront

The Weizmann Institute of Science developed ULTRASAT which will be the only telescope able to detect , in real-time , fleeting space phenomena such as supernovae , gamma-ray outbursts , the explosion of large stars and neutron star mergers .
More than 12 years ago , the idea to develop an Israeli telescope came into being . The subject was brought up in conversation between Zvi Kaplan , the former head of the Israeli Space Agency ; Professor Eli Waxman , an astrophysicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science ; and Weizmann Institute scientists . What transpired was the development of ULTRASAT , a telescope with the potential to put Israel at the forefront of astronomical research .
After discussions with colleagues from the California Institute of Technology , they agreed that what observational astronomy was lacking was a telescope that could detect , in real-time , fleeting space phenomena such as supernovae , gamma-ray outbursts , the explosion of large stars and neutron star mergers . In order for scientists to study such anomalies , the cosmic event first needs to be detected and then different kinds of telescopes based both on earth and in space need to be pointed in the direction of the anomaly . Because of the fleeting nature of such astronomical phenomena , called ‘ transient ’ by astrophysicists , and because of the vastness of space ,
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