The telescope on the moon could study the oldest stars in the universe

American astronomers say new evidence supports the idea that a large telescope on the moon could study the oldest stars in the universe.

A group of international scientists proposed the idea of ​​building a similar telescope to NASA in 2008. The US space agency looked into the plan, but later decided not to. NASA said there was not enough scientific support on the first stars at the time.

Now, a group of astronomers from the University of Texas at Austin say they have found new evidence that a telescope on the moon would be able to collect data on the first stars in the universe. The team, led by NASA Hubble Fellow Anna Schauer, will publish the research results in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

The researchers called the device Ultimately Large Telescope. It would work with a 100-meter mirror made of liquid. It could receive power from a solar energy harvesting station on the moon and send data to a satellite in lunar orbit.

A liquid mirror is lighter than a glass one and less expensive to transport to the moon. Astronomers say the liquid would include metallic material for effectiveness reflection.

The team proposes that the telescope can be placed inside a file crater north or south of the moon Polo shirt. The device would study the first stars by continuously centering the same area of ​​the sky in an attempt to “collect as much light from them as possible,” the scientists said in a statement.

The first stars in the universe are believed to have formed more than 13 billion years ago. Stars are thought to have formed after the Big Bang, the great explosion that many scientists believe created the universe.

The team says these stars were born from a mixture of hydrogen and helium. They are probably 10 to 100 times larger than our sun.

Volker Bromm is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a project leader. “We live in a universe of stars,” he said in a statement. But an important question that remains is “how did star formation begin in the beginning cosmic history, “he added.

Scientists say their moon-based observer would be able to collect data on the oldest stars, something no other telescope can.

NASA plans to send the James Webb Space Telescope, its newest telescope, into space in October 2021. The launch of the James Webb has been delayed many times.

NASA says the telescope is designed to look deeper into space and offer more answers about the past than any other spacecraft. He is great infrared telescope, with a mirror of nearly seven meters to explore space.

Bromm said that throughout the history of astronomy, telescopes have become increasingly powerful, allowing exploration of times closer to the Big Bang. He added that the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to reach the time when galaxies first formed.

“But the theory predicts that there was an even earlier time, when galaxies did not exist yet, but where the individual stars formed, “said Bromm.” This moment of ‘very first light’ is beyond capacity even the powerful (James Webb), and instead needs a ‘definitive“telescope.”

The team proposes to the global astronomy community to review the plan to use a liquid mirror lunar telescope as a way to directly observe these first stars for the first time.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

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Words in this story

lunar – adj. relative to the moon

reflect – v. to send back or bounce

crater – n. a large round hole in the ground created by a bomb exploding or something falling from the sky

Polo shirt – n. the part of a body, such as the Earth, which is further north or south

cosmic – adj. relative to the entire universe

infrared – n. technical: produce or use rays of light which cannot be seen and which are longer than rays which produce red light

galaxy – n. a large group of stars from the same universe

capacity – n. the ability or power to do something

definitive – adj. the final or the most important