Chinese space telescope will outperform Hubble
China announced launching a major project to bolster the nation’s space research goals. Next year, the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) will aid in new astronomical discoveries. Space.com says it is also known as the “Xuntian,” which roughly translates to “survey of the heavens” or “surveying the sky.”
The United States NASA has been leading space exploration for many years, but other countries are catching up. For example, India recently became the fourth country to land on the Moon. Soon, China will use its latest technologies to open more insights into the cosmos. As a result, the increased research will enable everyone to learn more about outer space.
This article will discuss the announced capabilities of the Chinese Space Telescope. Later, I will cover similar projects from NASA and other agencies.
What are the Chinese Space Telescope’s features?
Space.com says the bus-sized Chinese Space Station Telescope houses a two-meter (6.6 foot) diameter primary mirror. Also, it will co-orbit the country’s Tiangoing Space Station.
That placement will allow Chinese spacewalkers to overhaul the CSST occasionally. More importantly, China designed Xuntian to beat NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
Lin Xiqiang, the China Manned Space Agency deputy director, stated the CSST observatory would make breakthroughs in dark matter, dark energy, cosmology, the Milky Way galaxy, and other neighboring galaxies.
Xiqiang said the Chinese Space Telescope will take deep-field survey observations with an area of 17,500 square degrees. Moreover, it will make fine observations of different celestial bodies with its 2.5 billion pixel camera.
Space.com says the CSST can obtain high-definition panoramic views of the universe with a similar spatial resolution as the Hubble Space Telescope. However, the Xuntian’s field of view is 300 times wider.
Li Ran, CSST Scientific Data Reduction System project scientist, shared a few insights regarding China’s space eye during a Xinhua news agency interview. “Hubble may see a sheep, but the CSST sees thousands, all at the same resolution,” he said.
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Ran added that the Xuntian will temporarily dock with the space station for hands-on supply, maintenance, and upgrading by Tiangong astronauts. Moreover, Zhou Jianping, the China Manned Space Program’s chief designer, promoted the CSST during a China Central Television interview.
“The Xuntian telescope has been the most important scientific project since the launch of our country’s space station program. It is a scientific facility that the Chinese astronomical community has eagerly anticipated, and a scientific facility representing the state-level high tech in astronomy,” Zhou said.
Xu Shuyan, Xuntian optical facility chief designer, said, “We are still developing the prototype sample. After this, we will start the development of the telescope sample.”
What is NASA doing?
What do all these Hubble images have in common?
They show the aftermath of stars that died in a bright, powerful explosion known as a supernova.
In a supernova, a star’s contents fling out into space at speeds of up to 25,000 miles (15,000 to 40,000 km) per second! pic.twitter.com/KC5BHNeSZa
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) February 27, 2023
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has led astronomical research for many years, so we should contrast it with the CSST. As mentioned, the Chinese designed the Xuntian to outdo NASA’s Hubble Telescope.
Nowadays, it still helps people learn more about outer space. For example, the Hubble Telescope showed the world what stars look like when they die and explode into supernovas.
In February 2023, it posted four breathtaking photos on the X social media: the Supernova Remnant DEM L, the Veil Nebula, the Cygnus supernova, and the Crab Nebula. The space agency describes them as the remnants of dying stars.
These heavenly bodies burn out as they exhaust nuclear fuel made of helium, hydrogen, and other elements. Ironically, stars expand as they consume more energy, becoming red giants.
Stars collapse once they run out of fuel, exploding as a supernova. However, due to its aging systems, NASA will soon decommission the International Space Station.
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Cathay Lewis, a National Air And Space Museum Historian, cited the Soviet Union’s Salyut 7 space station as a reason to disable the ISS. In 1985, the space station became uncontrollable in orbit due to its outdated technology.
That sparked one of the dangerous space missions as two cosmonauts struggled to revive the tumbling station. “We really don’t want to go through that again,” Lewis said.
Fortunately, NASA plans to replace the ISS with a more advanced space vessel. Soon, it may match or exceed the Chinese Space Telescope and its space station’s capabilities.
Conclusion
China will launch the Xuntian to rival NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The Chinese Space Telescope will have similar image quality but a wider field of view.
That will enable the CSST to observe more heavenly bodies or larger ones in crisper detail. However, astronomer Tom Brown is skeptical of the Xuntian’s features.
“Not a lot is publicly known about the specific capabilities of the China Space Station Telescope, so it is difficult to judge how it will enable similar investigations, “ Brown told Space.com. Learn more about the latest digital tips and trends at Inquirer Tech.
