A telescope on the moon could study the oldest stars in the universe

American astronomers say new evidence supports the idea that a large telescope on the moon could study the oldest stars in the universe.

A group of international scientists proposed the idea of ​​building such a telescope to NASA in 2008. The US space agency reviewed the plan, but then decided not to do so. NASA said there was not enough scientific data on the first stars at the time.

Now, a group of astronomers from the University of Texas at Austin said they had found new evidence that a telescope on the moon would be able to collect data on the first stars in the universe. The team, led by NASA Hubble member Anna Schauer, is set to publish the results of their research in an upcoming issue of The astrophysical journal.

The researchers named the device Ultimately Large Telescope. It would work with a 100 meter liquid mirror. It could receive energy from a solar energy collecting station on the moon and send data to a satellite in lunar orbit.

A liquid mirror is lighter than a glass mirror and less expensive to transport to the moon. Astronomers say the liquid would include a metallic material for a reflection.

The team proposes that the telescope can be placed inside a crater north or south of the moon pole. The device would study the first stars by focusing on the same area of ​​the sky continuously, in an effort “to collect as much light as possible,” the scientists said in a statement.

It is believed that the first stars in the universe formed over 13 billion years ago. The stars are thought to have formed after the Big Bang – the Big Bang that many scientists believe created the universe.

The team claims that these stars were born from a mixture of hydrogen and helium. They are probably 10 to 100 times larger than our sun.

Volker Bromm is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and a project leader. “We live in a universe of stars,” he said in a statement. But an important remaining question is “how early star formation began cosmic history, ”he added.

Scientists say their moon-based observer would be able to collect data on the oldest stars, which no other telescope is equipped to do.

NASA plans to send the James Webb Space Telescope, its newest telescope, into space in October 2021. The launch of the James Webb has been repeatedly delayed.

NASA says the telescope is designed to look deeper into space and offer more answers to the past than any other spacecraft. It’s a big infrared telescope, with a mirror of nearly seven meters to explore space.

Bromm said that throughout the history of astronomy, telescopes have become increasingly powerful, making it possible to explore times closer to the Big Bang. He added that the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to reach the point when galaxies first formed.

“But theory predicts that there was an even older time, when galaxies didn’t exist yet, but where the stars first formed, ”Bromm said. “This moment of ‘very first light’ is beyond the abilities even the powerful (James Webb), and rather needs a ‘ultimate‘telescope. “

The team proposes that the global astronomical community reconsider plans to use a lunar liquid mirror telescope as a way to directly observe these early stars for the first time.

I am Bryan Lynn.

Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

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Words in this story

lunar – adj. relative to the moon

reflect – v. send back or bounce back

crater – not. a large round hole in the ground made by a bomb explosion or something falling from the sky

pole – not. the part of a body, such as the Earth, that is furthest north or south

cosmic – adj. relating to the whole universe

infrared – not. technical: produce or use rays of light that cannot be seen and that are longer than rays that produce red light

galaxy – not. a large group of stars from the same universe

aptitude – not. the ability or power to do something

ultimate – adj. the final or the most important