FROM Exbourne to Hawaii and far, far beyond to the outer reaches of the universe — that's the mission for Exbourne scientist and former Okehampton College student, Dr Greg Harris, who jetted off to Hawaii last week with a team of astronomers.
Dr Harris and three other astronomers from University College, London, have been lucky enough to be granted two half nights of observation using NASA's multi-million dollar facilities which include a three-metre wide telescope.
Only one in four applications from universities around the world are successfully granted time at NASA's observatory, with applications judged on merit.
The scientists will be driven 3,000 metres up a mountain to the observatory, where they will spend two days acclimatising to the altitude.
They will then begin their work observing some of the oldest and faintest stars in the galaxy, estimated at 13-14 million years old.
These stars are some of the first formed after 'The Big Bang' and give information about the universe before any stars were formed.