China claims to launch a ‘better’ telescope than Hubble, which can measure billions of galaxies
Xuntian Space Telescope – Photo: TWITTER
Associated Xinhua News Agency The “world-leading” telescope will provide new insights into distant galaxies, mysterious dark matter, dark energy and the past and future evolution of China, says China’s state-run news agency. The universe.
The Xuntian Space Telescope (CSST) is an optical observatory in space that allows astronomers to conduct sky surveys and take a map or general picture of the sky.
According to CSST project scientist Li Ran, Xuntian can scan images of 40% of the sky and relay huge data back to Earth, for scientists around the world to examine.
The Chinese researchers also claim the telescope will measure the position, shape and brightness of nearly a billion galaxies, which could help explain how they evolved.
The Xuntian telescope connected to the Tiangong Space Station will come into operation at the end of 2022. The telescope is placed in the same orbit as the space station, but normally they operate far apart. Only when necessary does the telescope dock at the space station for refueling and maintenance.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News AgencyLiu Jifeng, deputy director of the National Astronomical Observatory of China (NAOC), stated that although the aperture of the telescope is 2m, it has a field of view 350 times larger than that of Hubble.
According to Chinese researchers, the CSST has a design consisting of a 3-mirror lens, which allows images to achieve outstanding quality in a large field of view.
CSST is expected to officially begin scientific operations in 2024. In theory, the telescope has a 10-year mission life.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has a 2.4m (94-inch) main mirror, a smaller secondary mirror, and several recorders that can clearly detect ultraviolet and infrared light.
Its most important device, the wide-field camera, can capture wide-field or high-resolution images of planets and objects in and out of the galaxy.
The discoveries made by Hubble are said to have transformed astronomy. Hubble’s first precise measurement of the expansion rate of the universe came from its observations of Cepheid variable stars in nearby galaxies.
Hubble in theory worked for 15 years and is now more than 30 years old.
For the past three decades, Hubble has been the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope.
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