The world’s first “Lobster Eye” space telescope operates at an altitude of 500 km and captures high-quality images of X-ray sources.
China has successfully tested the world’s first “Lobster Eye” space telescope, capable of capturing X-ray images with unprecedented effectiveness, reported SCMP on December 28. At an altitude of 500 km above Earth, the Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy (LEIA), which weighs 53 kg, captures high-quality images of X-ray sources, including the center of the Milky Way, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the constellation Scorpius.
Simulation of the Einstein Probe space telescope utilizing Lobster Eye technology, scheduled for launch at the end of 2023. (Photo: EP Team/Chinese National Astronomical Observatory)
A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals that the technology of LEIA will be used on the Einstein Probe, a much larger telescope developed by Chinese and European scientists, which is expected to launch into orbit next year.
X-rays are difficult to reflect and converge due to their high penetrative ability. According to Yuan Weimin, an astrophysicist in charge of the project at the National Astronomical Observatory of China in Beijing, no existing X-ray telescope can capture high-resolution images of a sufficiently large sky area. Some can scan the sky in a few hours but only detect the brightest sources. Others can only observe a specific source accurately.
In the 1970s, biologists discovered how crustaceans like lobsters evolved their eyes to adapt to the dimly lit underwater environment. Lobster eyes consist of many small square tubes, all directed toward a spherical center. This structure allows light from all directions to reflect inside the tubes and converge on the retina, providing lobsters with a super-wide field of view.
American astronomer Roger Angel proposed using a similar mechanism to enhance X-ray telescopes’ wide and deep field of view. However, his idea posed significant technical challenges and has only been achieved in recent years.
The main telescope of the Einstein Probe will consist of 12 modules, each containing over 30 million small square holes. These holes, measuring 40 micrometers, are coated with a super-thin layer of iridium to increase reflectivity.
This unique design allows the Einstein Probe to observe a sky area equivalent to 10,000 full moons. In contrast, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory can only capture images smaller than one full moon in the sky.
When operational in orbit, the Einstein Probe is expected to detect numerous distant high-energy cosmic events or low-energy phenomena while making significant contributions to the study of supermassive black holes at the centers of most galaxies.
Yuan stated that the development of the telescope was delayed by a year due to the pandemic but has now resumed, with a launch anticipated at the end of 2023. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (Germany) also contributed hardware to this project, valued at over $111 million. Observational data will be shared with scientists in Europe and elsewhere. The telescope is designed for a lifespan of three years, but the research team aims to extend its operation to five years.
