Telescope 101: New technology paves the way for a clearer view of the future | The Canberra times

News, latest news,

Last time we covered some of the telescopes that are currently on the cutting edge of astronomy. Today, in our final article in this series, we’re going to cover the exciting future of telescopes. The upcoming “largest telescope on earth” is aptly named “Extremely Large Telescope” (ELT). Developed by the European Southern Observatory, the operators of the “Very Large Telescope”, the giant should have a primary mirror over 40 meters in diameter. This is about four times larger than the current record holder and 1.5 times larger than the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which is also being built in Chile. The first light for the telescope is scheduled for 2027, with a focus on observing planets around other stars, supermassive black holes, and the first galaxies in the universe. Perhaps one of the most troubled telescopes of the future is NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This space telescope, also known as the “Just Wait, Soon! Telescope”, is planned as a replacement for Hubble and was originally supposed to be launched in 2007 – 14 years ago. Numerous delays and technical problems have pushed the launch date forward. JWST is designed as an infrared telescope that examines the heat signatures of the first stars and galaxies with its special gold-coated 6.5-meter mirror. Keep your fingers crossed that it will finally hit the market on October 31st of this year. Finally, let’s go through two more space missions that aren’t even in development yet but are exciting nonetheless. NASA’s Large UV, Optical and Infra-Red Surveyor (LUIVOIR) is a potential telescope intended to more or less replace the JWST (when it is finally launched). It may have a mirror up to 15 meters tall, which is larger than the largest telescopes currently on the ground, and hopes to characterize planets around other stars that may harbor life. Don’t hold your breath on this telescope just yet – this multibillion dollar mission wouldn’t start until 2039 at the earliest. the large interferometer for exoplanets (LIFE). This mission, proposed as part of the European Space Agency’s 2050 Plan, could consist of four to six telescopes with mirrors around 2 meters in diameter. What is special about this mission is that all telescopes can work together to create a telescope with an effective diameter of hundreds to thousands of meters called a space interferometer. Such a telescope would have unprecedented resolution and would be able to take direct images of potential earths, much like the way Galileo first looked at the moons of Jupiter. The Australian National University currently has a team working on smaller missions to prove that the technology is actually possible for LIFE.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/pMXRnDj3SUU44AkPpn97sC/cf15fefb-94dd-4c5c-974a-04c3b5159646.jpg/r0_285_4738_2962_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

September 12, 2021 – 5:30 a.m.

An impression of the James Webb Space Telescope. Image: Shutterstock

Last time we covered some of the telescopes that are currently on the cutting edge of astronomy. Today, in our final article in this series, we’re going to cover the exciting future of telescopes.

The upcoming “largest telescope on earth” is aptly named “Extremely Large Telescope” (ELT). Developed by the European Southern Observatory, the operators of the “Very Large Telescope”, the giant should have a primary mirror over 40 meters in diameter.

This is about four times larger than the current record holder and 1.5 times larger than the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), which is also being built in Chile.

The first light for the telescope is scheduled for 2027, with a focus on observing planets around other stars, supermassive black holes, and the first galaxies in the universe.

Perhaps one of the most troubled telescopes of the future is NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This space telescope, also known as the “Just Wait, Soon! Telescope”, is planned as a replacement for Hubble and was originally supposed to be launched in 2007 – 14 years ago.

Also known as “Just Wait, Soon! Telescope ”, this space telescope is planned as a replacement for Hubble and was originally supposed to be launched in 2007.

Numerous delays and technical problems have pushed the launch date forward. JWST is designed as an infrared telescope that examines the heat signatures of the first stars and galaxies with its special gold-coated 6.5-meter mirror.

Keep your fingers crossed that it will finally hit the market on October 31st of this year.

Finally, let’s go through two more space missions that aren’t even in development yet but are exciting nonetheless.

NASA’s Large UV, Optical and Infra-Red Surveyor (LUIVOIR) is a potential telescope intended to more or less replace the JWST (when it is finally launched).

It may have a mirror up to 15 meters tall, which is larger than the largest telescopes currently on the ground, and hopes to characterize planets around other stars that may harbor life.

Don’t hold your breath for this telescope just yet – this multi-billion dollar mission would start in 2039 at the earliest.

Finally, we’re exploring a rather unique telescope that is very dear to my heart: the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE). This mission, proposed as part of the European Space Agency’s 2050 Plan, could consist of four to six telescopes with mirrors around 2 meters in diameter.

What is special about this mission is that all telescopes can work together to create a telescope with an effective diameter of hundreds to thousands of meters called a space interferometer.

Such a telescope would have unprecedented resolution and could take direct images of potential Earths, much like Galileo first viewed the moons of Jupiter.

The Australian National University currently has a team working on smaller missions to prove that the technology is actually possible for LIFE.

• Jonah Hansen is a PhD student specializing in space interferometry at the Mount Stromlo Observatory at the Australian National University.