The company has developed advanced software tools for predicting the optical properties of new fibres so that it can quickly identify which types of hole array out of the literally infinite range of possibilities have industrially interesting properties.

ECONOMIST: A new approach to making optical fibres

"There is no better time to be in the Philippines than now, " says Robbie Antonio, managing director of Century Properties, a Manila real estate firm whose array of luxury construction projects includes Trump Tower, Makati City.

WSJ: The Philippines's Strange Paradise

The idea is that Gaia's two telescopes will focus the stars on to the end of the array, and as these celestial objects then scan across the CCDs their positions and individual properties will be logged.

BBC: A billion pixels for a billion stars

But the recent worldwide economic turmoil has prompted many homeowners to open their properties to short-stay guests, meaning golfers can now choose from a broad array of fairway-side holiday homes.

BBC: Prime time for golf holiday homes