Xichang (ANTARA) – China sent a new astronomical satellite into space on Tuesday to observe mysterious temporary phenomena in the universe comparable to the flickering of fireworks. The satellite launch aims to reveal violent and little-known aspects of the cosmos.
The satellite, named Einstein Probe (EP), uses new X-ray detection technology inspired by lobster eyes.
The EP was launched using a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, southwest China, at 15.03 Beijing Time or 14.03 WIB and this launch was the 506th mission for the Long March series carrier rocket.
Weighing around 1.45 tonnes and the size of a full-size SUV, the satellite is shaped like a lotus flower in full bloom and has 12 petals and two stamens.
“This is the most beautiful satellite I have ever seen,” said Yuan Weimin, EP mission principal investigator and research scientist at National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The 12 “petals” are actually 12 modules consisting of a wide-field X-ray telescope (WXT), while the two “stamens” consist of two advanced X-ray telescope (FXT) modules.
These telescopes form a space observatory aimed at helping scientists capture the first light from supernova explosions, search for and pinpoint X-ray signals accompanying gravitational wave events, and discover dormant black holes and faint celestial objects others are temporary and vary over the far reaches of the universe.
“Because black holes and gravitational waves are predictions made by Einstein’s theory of general relativity, this satellite was named after the great scientist,” Yuan said.
Scientists imitated the special structure of lobster eyes in developing WXT, which can simultaneously achieve wide-field observation and X-ray focused imaging.
WXT can observe one-twelfth of the entire sky at a glance, according to Ling Zhixing, a WXT instrument scientist.
The FXT developed by an international team led by Chinese scientists has high sensitivity and is not only suitable for rapid follow-up observations, but is also capable of independently finding explosive and transient sources, said Chen Yong, a researcher at the CAS Institute of High Energy Physics, who is in charge responsible for the development of FXT.
When the lobster eye telescope receives an X-ray signal from a transient source, its onboard computer processes the data in real-time and rotates the spacecraft to target the celestial body with FXT.
Next, FXT will carry out follow-up observations with high precision. The two telescopes will complement each other and work together, said Zhang Chen, assistant principal researcher of the EP mission.
The team also developed a CMOS sensor for X-ray observation in space that is an innovative X-ray astronomy detector, Zhang said
2024-01-10 01:05:32
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