While astrophysicists are often linked with high-tech laboratories and sophisticated tools, a considerable amount of work happens behind the scenes at their desks.

In today's data-centric landscape, where the amount of captured information is staggering and precision requirements are paramount, the days of relying solely on manual techniques are behind us.

To navigate this new era, we find ourselves immersed in the development of sophisticated algorithms to automate, analyse and correct vast datasets, enabling us to push the boundaries of our understanding.

Astrophysicists depend highly on imagery to glimpse into deep space. A picture of the night sky tells us a lot about the Universe’s history because it acts as a snapshot of the past. Everything we see has travelled light years to reach us, resulting in their positions in the sky appearing as they looked a long time ago. It's like looking back in time and seeing the story of how stars and galaxies formed and changed over the years. So, each object in the picture is like a little piece of history that helps us understand the larger story of the Universe.

While traditional telescopes help us zoom in on objects we see in the sky, Earth's atmosphere can distort and blur the light coming from space, affecting the quality of observations. This is why we place telescopes in space, to avoid this distortion.

Yet, our ambition to develop better telescopes relies on optical modelling. By creating virtual models of telescopes and their optical systems, scientists can predict how light will interact with the telescope and its instruments -

One of the main areas of focus for optical modelling and simulation in space telescopes is the development of image processing and correction algorithms. These algorithms are used to remove artefacts from telescope images, such as those caused by the telescope's optics or the digitisation process when capturing and storing the images on the telescope’s onboard camera, to produce more accurate images.

Optical modelling and simulation are also used to develop new imaging techniques for space telescopes. These techniques can be used to image objects that are too faint to be seen using traditional methods. Such techniques have been used to develop the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope. These telescopes have produced some of the most iconic images of the Universe.

Adding to such important work, Dr Ian Fenech Conti is a computational astrophysicist at Malta’s Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy (ISSA) at the University of Malta. His research has contributed to the recent first images emerging from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope.

Ian Fenech Conti at his desk.

Fenech Conti developed cutting-edge algorithms that are used for the optical modelling of the Euclid telescope in collaboration with Professor Lance Miller, from the University of Oxford and Professor Kristian Zarb Adami from ISSA. His work was incorporated into the telescope, which revealed razor-sharp astronomical images in colour across such a large patch of the sky that had never been seen before.

An astrophysicist’s work is never over. As telescopes become more sophisticated, the need for accurate and efficient modelling and simulation tools will only increase. Investing in an extensive computing processing farm is not economically viable, and consequently, a crucial aspect of the process involves fine-tuning these algorithms for swift and efficient execution.

This can be achieved through various techniques, one of which is shifting data processing data onto the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a process that is being led by Professor Alessio Magro from the Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy.

Such advancements are not solely for the benefit of out-of-this-world research. Techniques developed in astrophysics find practical applications in our everyday lives. One such example is project OPTICA, spearheaded by Fenech Conti himself and Andrea DeMarco, where similar optical modelling techniques are being used to enhance the clarity of astrophotography images captured by smartphones.

This article is edited by Erika Puglisevich and brought to you by the Malta Chamber of Scientists.