A joint Chinese and European X-ray telescope mission called Einstein Probe is successfully viewing the universe in widescreen, with a telescope design that mimics the eyes of lobsters.Einstein Probe, which launched on Jan. 9 aboard a Chinese Long March rocket, is currently undergoing testing and calibration of its instruments as it orbits the Earth at an altitude of 600 kilometers (373 miles). Its first observations were revealed at a symposium in Beijing.The problem with X-rays is that they are so high in energy that they are difficult to capture with a standard detector. Lenses don’t work because X-rays are too powerful to be easily refracted, and an X-ray striking a mirror face-on will simply pass through said mirror. Rather, X-ray detection is only possible when these rays strike a reflective surface at a shallow angle. From there, the rays can be directed towards an X-ray-specific detector. However, this mechanism poses a bit of a problem. It means an X-ray telescope can usually only detect X-rays along a narrow field of view; outside of that field of view, X-rays would strike at too great an angle.As it turns out, lobsters are the solution — lobster vision, that is. What’s more, scientists cottoned onto this basic idea back in the late 1970s, but it has taken decades to successfully adapt that idea for use on X-ray telescopes in space.Related: The Chandra X-ray spacecraft may soon go dark, threatening a great deal of astronomyHuman eyes operate on the principle of refraction via a lens, aka the cornea. Lobsters, on the other hand, utilize reflection. Their eyes are a composite of tiny tubes arranged as parallel squa …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnA joint Chinese and European X-ray telescope mission called Einstein Probe is successfully viewing the universe in widescreen, with a telescope design that mimics the eyes of lobsters.Einstein Probe, which launched on Jan. 9 aboard a Chinese Long March rocket, is currently undergoing testing and calibration of its instruments as it orbits the Earth at an altitude of 600 kilometers (373 miles). Its first observations were revealed at a symposium in Beijing.The problem with X-rays is that they are so high in energy that they are difficult to capture with a standard detector. Lenses don’t work because X-rays are too powerful to be easily refracted, and an X-ray striking a mirror face-on will simply pass through said mirror. Rather, X-ray detection is only possible when these rays strike a reflective surface at a shallow angle. From there, the rays can be directed towards an X-ray-specific detector. However, this mechanism poses a bit of a problem. It means an X-ray telescope can usually only detect X-rays along a narrow field of view; outside of that field of view, X-rays would strike at too great an angle.As it turns out, lobsters are the solution — lobster vision, that is. What’s more, scientists cottoned onto this basic idea back in the late 1970s, but it has taken decades to successfully adapt that idea for use on X-ray telescopes in space.Related: The Chandra X-ray spacecraft may soon go dark, threatening a great deal of astronomyHuman eyes operate on the principle of refraction via a lens, aka the cornea. Lobsters, on the other hand, utilize reflection. Their eyes are a composite of tiny tubes arranged as parallel squa …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
