Canon U.S.A. Inc., to Provide 120 EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lenses
for Expansion of the Dragonfly Telephoto Array Project
Dragonfly Telephoto Array installed in New Mexico.”Image by Pieter van Dokkum, Yale University.”
HONG KONG, 3rd December 2021 — Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced the company will provide technical assistance to Project Dragonfly, an international research team from Yale University and the University of Toronto, in its plan to expand the Dragonfly Telephoto Array. The company will provide the project with 120 Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM large-aperture super-telephoto single-focal length lenses, and its parent company, Canon Inc., will provide technical assistance.
The Dragonfly Telephoto Array is a telescope array equipped with multiple Canon large-aperture super-telephoto single focal length lenses – specifically, the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. The telescope was designed in 2013 by Project Dragonfly, an international research team from Yale University and the University of Toronto. The Dragonfly Telephoto Array is capable of capturing images of galaxies that are so faint and large that they had escaped detection by even the largest conventional telescopes. Its mission is to study the low surface brightness universe to elucidate the nature of dark matter and to utilize the concept of distributed telescopes.
Photo taken with the Dragonfly Telephoto Array. The moon is shown for scale. ”Image by Pieter van Dokkum, Yale University.”
In support of this research, Canon provided technical assistance by supplying 40 Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lenses in 2015, expanding the array to 48 lenses with 24 telescopes bundled on two separate mounts. Since then, the research team has produced significant results in extragalactic astronomy, including discovering the ultra-diffuse galaxy Dragonfly 44 in 2016 and the identification of a galaxy that lacks dark matter, NGC 1052-DF2, in 2018.
This time, Canon will provide technical assistance by supplying 120 Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lenses to the research team, enabling further expansion of the telescope array. With a total of 168 lenses, the telescope array has a light-gathering capability equivalent to that of a refracting telescope of 1.8 meters in diameter, with a focal length of only 40 cm, and is expected to open new windows on the universe.
Canon is committed to contributing to the development of science and technology by leveraging the technological strengths it has cultivated as a leading imaging company.
Message from Professor Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University comments
The Dragonfly Telephoto Array is the pre-eminent survey telescope for finding faint, diffuse objects in the night sky. It has enabled us to discover ultra-diffuse galaxies and other low-surface brightness phenomena—rendering images that deepen our understanding of how galaxies are formed and providing key insights into the nature of dark matter. The initial array was equipped with 48 Canon 400mm telephoto lenses featuring anti-reflection coatings that mitigate the effects of light scattering, overcoming the limitations of conventional telescopes in detecting faint structures. The lenses are coupled to monolithic wide-field detectors that permit excellent error control. With the addition of 120 of these lenses, in a newly developed configuration allowing extremely narrow filters to be used, Dragonfly will be the most powerful wide-field spectroscopic line mapping machine in existence. A major goal of the next iteration of the Dragonfly array is to detect and study the faint gas thought to exist around and between galaxies. By opening this new window on the cosmos, Dragonfly will tackle some of the most critical questions in astrophysics today.
About Canon Hongkong Company Limited
Canon Inc. (TSE:7751 / NYSE:CAJ) was founded in 1937 in Japan. Its predecessor, Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, produced Japan's first 35 mm focal-plane-shutter camera “Kwanon” in 1934. Canon Inc. eventually expanded into the photocopying and printing industries, launching Japan's first plain-paper copier NP-1100 in 1970 and the world's first inkjet printer BJ-80 in 1985. Through the years, Canon Inc. has acquired in-depth experience in digital imaging product manufacturing, and research and development. It is a leader in the development of innovative products and holds the most technology patents in the imaging industry. Canon Inc. also makes a significant contribution to the promotion of photography. Today, Canon Inc. has a strong global presence and is one of the most important market players in the imaging, office and industrial product categories. As of 31 December 2020, Canon's global revenue was US$30.38 billion.
One of the company’s first offices in Asia, Canon Hongkong Co., Ltd. (Canon HK) was established in 1971. It is a Total Imaging Solution provider, to provide professional pre-sales, marketing and after-sales services for all Canon products and solutions in Hong Kong and Macau. With the solely owned subsidiary Canon Business Solutions (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. established in 2018, the company also provide intelligent total business solutions and professional services to companies in the Greater Bay Area. Canon HK adheres to Canon’s corporate philosophy of “kyosei”, which encourages the company and its staff to participate in social, charitable and environmental activities in the community. Canon HK implements internationally-recognized management systems and has achieved ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001 (Canon Digital Production Center) certifications.
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