"Every area of astronomy, from planets around other stars to the first galaxies in the universe, will be revolutionised by this telescope," said Professor Simon Morris of Durham University.
"Exoplanet research is one of the most exciting new frontiers in astronomy, and direct imaging of planets is still a new field, greatly benefiting from recent improvements in instruments and data analysis methods," said Adam Amara, another member of the team.
"I am looking forward to seeing how both of us can together advance our knowledge on the most exciting subjects of current astronomy: extrasolar planets and cosmology". The studies will be made possible by a new generation of instruments specially made for the telescope.
Fascinated by close-up pictures of planets, she decided to pursue astronomy.
Looking ahead in his own field of astronomy, Rees will say he is excited by the regular discovery of planets orbiting other stars.
The most exciting recent breakthrough in astronomy has been the realisation that most stars are orbited by retinues of planets, just like our sun is.
Poe also discusses several astronomy-related topics in Eureka, including the speed of the stars, the diameters of planets and distance between them, the weight of Earth, and the orbit of the newly discovered "Leverrier's planet" (later named Neptune).
By the 17th century, two developments allowed for the transits of planets across the face of the Sun to be predicted and observed: the telescope and the new astronomy of Johannes Kepler, which assumed elliptical, rather than circular, planetary orbits.
The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics flourished during this period under such well known scholars as Madhava (c. 1340-1425) who made important contributions to Trigonometery and Calculus, and Nilakhanta (c. 1444-1545) who postulated on the orbitals of planets.
In addition, examples from astronomy (planets and solar system) would be useful as well since students also tend to provide teleological explanations about the properties of planetary bodies.
