Chinese scientists will create a super-powerful telescope that will surpass Hubble

In 2024, the Chinese XunTian Space Telescope will be launched into Earth orbit. Astronomers in China believe that its equipment will allow for much better space observations than the American Hubble telescope, Space writes.

The Xuntian Ultraviolet-Optical Space Telescope will have a two-meter main mirror, a camera with a resolution of 2.5 billion pixels, and will orbit the Earth in the same orbit as the Chinese Tiangong space station. This will allow the telescope to dock with the station for repairs and modernization. The planned service life of the observatory, which is to be launched next year, is 10 years, but Chinese scientists have said that this period can be extended.

xiongnan telescope, cover photo — Hubble telescope

According to Lin Xiqiang of the China Manned Space Agency, the new telescope should surpass the Hubble Space Telescope and will be able to make a breakthrough in space exploration, research of dark matter and dark energy. Its tasks also include the study of the Milky Way and other galaxies, the study of the process of new stars and their evolution, as well as the emergence and development of exoplanets.

According to Chinese scientists, Xiongnan will be able to take high-resolution panoramic images of the Universe. At the same time, the field of view of the new telescope will be 300 times larger than that of Hubble.

According to Zhou Jianping of the China Manned Space Agency, Xuntian will be the most advanced telescope in the world in terms of its ability to create images in the ultraviolet spectrum.

As a reminder, a unique event took place at the Chinese space station Tiangong: crew members lit a match and then a candle. This was done for popular science purposes, to demonstrate the behavior of flames in zero gravity.