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A team of astronomers from the University of Texas relaunched an idea that NASA abandoned more than a decade ago: build a giant telescope on the moon. One large enough to observe the first stars of the Universe, the ones that have only been explained in theory but have not seen in practice.
The idea would be build the telescope on the lunar surface to avoid all kinds of light pollution and interference which can occur on or near Earth. Telescopes in space like Hubble have already shown us the benefits and advantages of observing from there without interference from the atmosphere. In this case it would be going even further, to the Moon, where there would be virtually no contamination from the Earth.
The telescope it would be about 100 meters wide with a liquid mirror. The initial idea that NASA studied a few years ago referred to one that was only 20 meters wide. In addition to its size, it would be distinguished by an adjacent solar park that would provide power for the telescope’s operation. Finally, there would be a lunar satellite that collects that data and sends it to Earth.
Original prototype from 2008. The new one would be five times bigger. But there are difficulties when it comes to building in space or going to the moon. For logistical reasons, it would not be easy to bring a giant glass mirror there, then propose to use reflective liquid, easier to carry. They also propose to build it in a crater that is constantly in shadow to avoid excess heat. A problem they still don’t know how to solve is that of moon dust, a really big problem.
Build telescopes on the moon is not a new idea. Just this year NASA decided to investigate the idea of building a telescope using the shape of a lunar crater. Russia has also proposed building telescopes on the moon to protect the Earth.
Look at the origin of the Universe
A lunar telescope would have the ability to see something no other telescope has seen so far: signs of the first stars that made up the Universe. In the pre-article published by the astronomers they explain how the absence of pollution would make it possible to see these stars. Of course, in 2008 NASA already discarded the idea due to the little information and studies that are related to these stars.
The theory about these stars is that they were born “only” a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. For example, they are believed to be hundreds of times larger than our Sun. But despite, due to the brightness of the galaxies, it is impossible to detect them even with the most powerful telescopes we have now. Even the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be out soon and will be the most powerful, will not be able to see them.
Reason for observing these early stars? Like most times the Universe is studied: understand our origin. The first stars made up some of the more complex elements on the periodic table and thus shaped the Universe as we know it, in a sense. It is possible to visualize it through computers and simulations, but direct observation could answer basic questions such as their real size or if they are in a group or individually.
Vía | PHYS
More information | arXiv
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