Former Arzamas-16 (today - Sarov), the cradle of the first atomic bomb and he - the Federal Nuclear Center of the Russian Federation again surprised: Sarov scientists have created an X-ray supertelescope for the search for extraterrestrial civilizations ART-XC. It will become part of the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma International Astrophysical Observatory. This observatory includes two telescopes at once. In addition to the products of Sarov scientists, the observatory also includes a telescope from Germany with oblique incidence optics eRosita.
The International Astrophysical Observatory "Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma" was supposed to rise into the sky back in 2013. But technical difficulties prevented: the issue with the carrier rocket was solved for a long time. As a result, they refused to help Ukraine. The ice has finally broken. The observatory is preparing to launch into space.
Megaproject of the 21st century
“Russian scientists began discussing the Spectr-RG project with foreign partners back in March 2005,” says Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Igor Ostretsov... - The observatory acquired its final appearance in the fall of 2008, at the same time the position of the apparatus was finally chosen - at the Lagrange point L2 of the Sun-Earth system and the instrumental composition was recorded - two X-ray telescopes. Then the Agreement was signed between Roscosmos and the German aerospace agency DLR. The observatory will be based on the Navigator platform, developed at the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association.
“Not only scientists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics from Sarov worked on this mega-project of the 21st century, but also employees of the Institute space exploration RAS, NPO named after S.A. Lavochkin (Khimki), as well as scientists (already mentioned) of the Max Planck Institute (Garsching), the Institute of Astrophysics (Potsdam), - said the Deputy Director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics Mikhail Pavlinsky... - "Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma" for the first time will make a complete survey of the whole sky with record sensitivity, angular and energy resolution in the hard energy range. About 3 million new nuclei of active galaxies and up to 100 thousand new galaxy clusters will be discovered. The observatory will be able to register all large clusters of galaxies existing in the Universe ”.
The observatory is planned to be brought to the Lagrange point L2 in the "Sun - Earth" system at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth. The optimal launch date for the spacecraft is September 25, 2017. The flight to the Lagrange point should take 100 days. The observatory's program of work is designed for 7 years, of which the first 4 years will cover the survey of the entire sky. The remaining 3 years are planned for selective observation in the sky.
They intend to launch the observatory into space using a heavy launch vehicle "Proton". But other options are also being considered.
Subnanotechnology
“The project provides for the creation of an orbital astrophysical X-ray observatory with an expanded energy range towards hard energies,” says Doctor of Technical Sciences Dmitry Litvin... - During a seven-year working cycle, a map of X-ray sources will be generated. At the same time, the discovery of several thousand extragalactic sources is expected. Detailed X-ray studies of galactic and extragalactic objects will be carried out. As a result, a significant expansion of experimental data on the evolution of the Universe is expected, in particular, on the widely discussed problem of “dark” matter ”.
Mirror focusing optics with the required level of angular resolution in such a hard spectral range is being created in Russia for the first time. Only NASA has such technology in the world. To ensure the required reflectivity, the surface must be practically ideal, since the permissible size of microroughnesses must not exceed the size of an atom. It is no longer necessary to speak about nano, but about subnano-technology.
By the way, on initial stage negotiations were held on broader representation in the project with the European Space Agency, as well as the UK Space Research Center. And it was envisaged to set up an all-sky X-ray monitor to record the appearance of intense sources in real time, as well as an X-ray spectrometer with ultra-high resolution. For various reasons, a number of devices were not included in the project. The German X-ray mirror telescope eROSITA will be used in the spectral range of 0.5–10 keV. The relatively low energy of photons facilitates the fabrication of mirror optics and allows the use of well-developed silicon spectrometers. Accordingly, one can expect a high angular resolution with sufficient detection efficiency and spectral resolution. The telescope will expand and refine observational data from previous projects.
The Russian X-ray mirror telescope ART-XC is designed for a photon energy of 6–30 keV. Mastering the more rigid spectral range of the Russian telescope complicates the production of optics and the recording part, but is of particular interest for a number of reasons: increased penetrating power, the ability to observe distant regions of space and look inside highly absorbing systems. correspondence to the radiation spectrum of the hottest regions of the Universe.
2 billion planets
“In addition to searching for“ dark energy, ”Spectr-RG will study neutron and supernova stars, gamma-ray bursts,” continues our conversation, Professor Igor Ostretsov. - The data obtained should help scientists in the study of the mysterious "dark" energy. With an understanding of the nature of this phenomenon, it will become possible to prove the existence of the fifth dimension: the familiar world contains three spatial and one temporal dimension. "
The analysis of concentrated X-rays will give scientists information about the physical processes and the geometry of their sources, which can be coronal active stars, X-ray binaries, white dwarfs, and supernova remnants.
“Life forms can exist inside black holes, including those in the form of highly developed civilizations, which, for various reasons, do not want to disclose their location to“ brothers in mind, ”says an employee of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vyacheslav Dokuchaev... - But the problem is that the so-called event horizon, the primary region of black holes, where time and space merge together, does not allow detecting these life forms.
According to astrophysicists, in The milky way may contain about two billion planets. This assessment was made based on the analysis of data collected by the Kepler telescope. "
Third revolution
And today scientists are talking about the third revolution in astronomy and astrophysics. The space age produced a second revolution in astronomy and astrophysics after the first - the invention of the optical telescope by Galileo Galilei in the 16th century. Scientists from Sarov prepared the third revolution.
Note that the work on the creation of the supertelescope began three times, and three times the technology did not allow to move forward. And only at the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics in Sarov this technology was mastered. The orbital observatory will provide a complete survey of the entire sky with record-breaking sensitivity, angular and energy resolution. One of the central instruments with the help of which will be used to solve the scientific problems assigned to the "Spectrum RG", and will be a telescope, capable of isolating and analyzing weak X-ray signals from high background radiation. To achieve this goal, unique concentrators of X-rays were developed, the basis of which is polycapillary optics, invented by Professor M. Kumakhov at the Institute of X-ray Optics.
Both the X-ray telescope and the X-ray mirrors are different in that they allow you to look at the Universe transparently, and this makes it possible to explore it in a completely new quality. The telescope will help you explore new physics and new physical phenomena of space. The sensitivity of the telescope from the Federal Nuclear Center will surpass all existing X-ray telescopes by 10 times.
Both telescopes, both Russian and German, are now located in the assembly shops of the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association in Khimki. They are waiting for the docking with the satellite. In accordance with the Federal Space Program, the launch of the spacecraft was planned for 2013, then a year later ... It is hoped that the launch will take place in September 2017. Today it is planned that the Spektr-RG space observatory will possibly be launched into orbit on the Proton-M with the DM-3 upper stage.
There is such a mechanism - a telescope. What is it for? What functions does it perform? How does it help?
general information
Stargazing has been fun for a long time. It was not only a pleasant but also a rewarding pastime. Initially, man could only observe the stars with his own eyes. In such cases, the stars were just points on the firmament. But in the seventeenth century, the telescope was invented. What was it for and why is it used now? In clear weather, it can be used to observe thousands of stars, carefully examine the month, or simply observe the depths of space. But let's say a person is interested in astronomy. The telescope will help him observe tens, hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars. In this case, it all depends on the power of the device used. So, amateur telescopes give an increase of several hundred times. If we talk about scientific instruments, they can see thousands and millions of times better than we do.
Types of telescopes
Conventionally, two groups can be distinguished:
- Amateur devices. This includes telescopes, the magnification of which is a maximum of several hundred times. Although there are relatively weak devices. So, for observing the sky, you can even buy budget models with a hundredfold increase. If you want to buy such a device for yourself, then know about the telescope - the price for them starts from 5 thousand rubles. Therefore, almost everyone can afford to study astronomy.
- Professional scientific instruments. There is a division into two subgroups: optical and radar telescopes. Alas, the former have a certain rather modest supply of possibilities. In addition, when the threshold of 250x is reached, the picture quality begins to drop sharply due to the atmosphere. The famous Hubble telescope can be cited as an example. It can transmit clear pictures with 5 thousand times magnification. If you neglect the quality, then it can improve visibility by 24,000! But the real miracle is the radar telescope. What is it for? Scientists use it to observe the Galaxy and even the Universe, learning about new stars, constellations, nebulae and others
What does a telescope give a person?
It is your ticket to a truly fantastic world of unexplored starry depths. Even budget amateur telescopes will allow scientific discoveries (even if made earlier by one of the professional astronomers). But a common person can do a lot. So, did the reader know that most comets were discovered by amateurs, not professionals? Some people make a discovery not even once, but many times, naming the found objects as they like. But even if it was not possible to find anything new, then every person with a telescope can feel much closer to the depths of the Universe. With its help, you can admire the beauty of other planets. Solar system.
If we talk about our satellite, then it will be possible to carefully consider the relief of its surface, which will be more lively, voluminous and detailed. In addition to the Moon, it will be possible to admire Saturn, the polar cap of Mars, dreaming of how apple trees will grow on it, the beautiful Venus and Mercury, which was blown out by the Sun. This is truly a delightful sight! With a more or less powerful device, it will be possible to observe variable and double massive fireballs, nebulae and even nearby galaxies. True, certain skills are still required to detect the latter. Therefore, it will be necessary to buy not only telescopes, but also educational literature.
The faithful assistant to the telescope
In addition to this device, its owner will find another tool for studying space useful - a map of the starry sky. This is a reliable and faithful cheat sheet that helps and facilitates the search for the desired objects. Previously, paper maps were used for this. But now they have been successfully replaced by electronic versions. They are much more convenient to use than printed cards. Moreover, this direction is actively developing, so even a virtual planetarium can provide a significant help to the owner of the telescope. Thanks to them, the required image will be quickly presented on the first request. Among the additional functions of such software - even providing any supporting information that might be useful.
So we figured out what a telescope is, what it is for and what opportunities it provides.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is an upcoming NASA mission that surveys about 200,000 stars for signs of exoplanets.
On a note! Exoplanets, or extrasolar planets, are planets outside the solar system. For a long time, the study of these celestial objects was inaccessible to researchers - unlike stars, they are too small and dim.
NASA has dedicated an entire program to the search for exoplanets with conditions similar to Earth. It consists of three stages. Principal Investigator, George Reeker of the M.V. Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Kavli, called the project “the mission of the century”.
The satellite was proposed as a mission in 2006. The startup was sponsored by such well-known companies as the Kavli Foundation, Google, and the initiative was also supported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 2013, TESS was included in the NASA Explorer program. TESS is designed for 2 years. It is expected that in the first year spacecraft will explore the Southern Hemisphere, the second - the Northern Hemisphere.
"TESS foresees the discovery of thousands of exoplanets of all sizes, including dozens of Earth-size comparable ones," the Massachusetts statement said in a statement. institute of Technology (MIT), who leads the mission.
Aims and purposes of the telescope
The satellite is an extension of NASA's successful Keppler Space Telescope mission, launched in 2009.
Like Kepler, TESS will search for changes in the brightness of the stars. When an exoplanet passes in front of a star (called a transit), it partially obscures the light emitted by the star.
These dips in brightness may indicate that one or more planets are orbiting the star.
However, unlike Keppler, the new mission will focus on stars 100 times brighter, select the most suitable for detailed study, and define targets for future missions.
TESS will scan the sky divided into 26 sectors with an area of \u200b\u200b24 by 96 degrees. Powerful cameras on spaceship will record the slightest change in the light of the stars in each sector.
Project manager Riker noted that the team expects to discover several thousand planets during the mission. “This task is broader, it goes beyond detecting exoplanets. Images from TESS will allow a number of discoveries in astrophysics, ”he added.
Features and characteristics
The TESS telescope is more advanced than its predecessor, Keppler. They have the same goal, both use a "transit" search technique, but the possibilities are different.
Having recognized more than two thousand exoplanets, Keppler spent his main mission observing a narrow section of the sky. TESS has a field of view that is almost 20 times larger, which allows it to detect more celestial objects.
The next baton in the study of exoplanets will be taken by the space telescope James Webb.
Webb will scan objects identified by TESS in more detail for water vapor, methane and other atmospheric gases. It is planned to be launched into orbit in 2019. This mission should be final.
Equipment
According to NASA, the solar-powered spacecraft has four wide-angle optical telescopes - refractors. Each of the four devices has built-in semiconductor cameras with a resolution of 67.2 megapixels, which are capable of operating in the spectral range from 600 to 1000 nanometers.
Modern equipment should provide a wide view of the entire sky. The telescopes will observe a specific area in the interval from 27 to 351 days and then move on to the next, sequentially traversing both hemispheres for two years.
Monitoring data will be processed and stored on board the satellite for three months... The device will transmit to Earth only those data that may be of scientific interest.
Orbit and launch
One of the most difficult tasks for the team was calculating the unique orbit for the spacecraft.
The device will be launched into a high elliptical orbit around the Earth - it will circumnavigate the Earth twice during the time the Moon completes a full circle. This type of orbit is the most stable. There is no space debris and strong radiation that could disable the satellite. The device will easily exchange data with ground services.
Launch dates
However, there is also a minus - such a trajectory limits the timing of the launch: it must be synchronized with the moon's orbit. The ship has a small "window" - from March to June - missing this deadline, the mission will not be able to complete the planned tasks.
- According to the published NASA budget, the maintenance of the exoplanetary telescope in 2018 will cost the agency almost $ 27.5 million, with a total project cost of $ 321 million.
- The spacecraft will rotate in an orbit that has never been used before. An elliptical orbit, called P / 2, is exactly half the Moon's orbital period. This means that TESS will orbit the Earth every 13.7 days.
- For the right to launch the satellite, the aerospace corporation Elon Musk has withstood serious competition with Boeng. Statistics and NASA were on the side
- The development of instruments - from airborne telescopes to optical receivers - was funded by Google.
TESS is expected to find thousands of candidates for the title of exoplanet. This will help astronomers better understand the structure. planetary systems and give an idea of \u200b\u200bhow our solar system was formed.
“We started an independent flight. There are strong contacts with measuring points in Medvezhye lakes and Ussuriysk. The solar panels opened, found the Sun, took a stabilized position and we have a positive energy balance ”... So the head of the NPO named after Lavochkin Victor Khartov July 18, shortly after the launch of RadioAstron. After that, it became clear: the start was successful, and for many astronomy lovers, this joyful news almost caused tears in their eyes.
For almost a quarter of a century, for more than twenty years, Russia has not put astronomical instruments into space!
The history of Radioastron has a half-century history. The idea of \u200b\u200blaunching a radio telescope into space belongs to the outstanding radio astronomer, student of IS Shklovsky Nikolai Semenovich Kardashev. Initially, he proposed creating a huge inflatable antenna, but by the time the project received official status (this happened in the 80s), the size of the telescope had significantly decreased. In the 90s, the project was actually frozen, in the last decade, despite the increase in funding, the launch was repeatedly postponed. And now Radioastron is in orbit!
However, it is too early to rejoice, because today, July 22, the antenna of the radio telescope should open. Radioastron will then observe the moon for calibration. Then attitude systems will be calibrated. This will be done by measuring one of the brightest sources of radio waves. In general, the device will work from two to three months in test mode. And only then will he start scientific observations.
Here the question may follow: why launch a radio telescope into space, because this will not give the instrument any advantages over ground-based analogs, as, for example, in the case of optical telescopes? The answer is simple: it's all about the database. Radioastron is a telescope designed to work in conjunction with ground-based radio telescopes. Together, they will create an ultra-long base, about 30 times larger than existing ones, limited by the diameter of the Earth. This means that with the help of Radioastron we will be able to explore the Universe with an angular resolution of one millionth of an arc second!
This will make it possible to study in detail the nature of the energy source in the nuclei of active galaxies, to study the evolution of compact extragalactic sources of radio emission, to obtain new data on pulsars, microquasars and radio stars, and finally to make a significant contribution to fundamental astrometry. In short, even today, half a century after the first idea of \u200b\u200ba space radio telescope, Radioastron is a unique instrument that has never had any analogues in the world.
What a blessing that the team did not scatter in the dashing 90s and continued to work in the difficult 2000s. And how great it is that Radioastron has been launched after all! Now - the next step. Let's spit three times and wait for the antenna to unfold. And there you look, and the first scientific results will arrive in time. We really need them, and especially the young generation of our scientists.
July 18, 2011. Cosmodrome "Baikonur". The Zenit rocket with the Fregat booster stage is launching the Spectr-R or Radioastron radio telescope into orbit
July 18, 2011. Cosmodrome "Baikonur". The Zenit rocket with the Fregat booster stage is launching the Spectr-R or Radioastron radio telescope into orbit
July 18, 2011. Cosmodrome "Baikonur". The Zenit rocket with the Fregat booster stage is launching the Spectr-R or Radioastron radio telescope into orbit
July 18, 2011. Cosmodrome "Baikonur". The Zenit rocket with the Fregat booster stage is launching the Spectr-R or Radioastron radio telescope into orbit
July 18, 2011. Cosmodrome "Baikonur". The Zenit rocket with the Fregat booster stage is launching the Spectr-R or Radioastron radio telescope into orbit
Academician N. S. Kardashev accepts congratulations on the successful launch. Photo: Vladimir A. Samodurov
An interesting article about the launch of Radioastron was published in the newspaper
How did telescopes come about?
The first telescope appeared at the beginning of the 17th century: several inventors simultaneously invented telescopes. These tubes were based on the properties of a convex lens (or, as it is also called, a concave mirror), acting as a lens in the tube: the lens collects light rays into focus, and an enlarged image is obtained, which can be viewed through the eyepiece located at the other end of the tube. The important date for telescopes is January 7, 1610; then the Italian Galileo Galilei first directed a telescope into the sky - and that is how he turned it into a telescope. Galileo's telescope was very small, just over a meter in length, and the objective was 53 mm in diameter. Since then, telescopes have grown steadily in size. The really large telescopes in observatories began to be built in the 20th century. The largest optical telescope to date is the Large Canary Telescope, at an observatory in the Canary Islands, with a lens diameter of as much as 10 m.
Are all telescopes the same?
No. The main type of telescopes is optical, they use either a lens, or a concave mirror or a series of mirrors, or a mirror and a lens together. All these telescopes work with visible light - that is, they look at planets, stars and galaxies in about the same way as a very sharp-sighted human eye would look at them. All objects in the world have radiation, and visible light is only a small fraction of the spectrum of these radiation. Looking at space only through it is even worse than seeing the world around in black and white light; so we lose a lot of information. Therefore, there are telescopes that work on different principles - for example, radio telescopes that catch radio waves, or telescopes that catch gamma rays - they are used to observe the hottest objects in space. There are also ultraviolet and infrared telescopes, they are well suited for detecting new planets outside the solar system: in the visible light of bright stars, it is impossible to see tiny planets orbiting them, but in ultraviolet and infrared light, this is much easier.
Why do you need telescopes at all?
Good question! You should have asked it earlier. We send spacecraft into space and even to other planets, collect information on them, but for the most part astronomy is a unique science, because it studies objects to which it does not have direct access. The telescope is the best tool to get information about space. He sees waves that are inaccessible to the human eye, the smallest details, and also records his observations - then with the help of these records you can notice changes in the sky.
Thanks to modern telescopes, we have a good idea of \u200b\u200bthe stars, planets and galaxies and can even detect hypothetical particles and waves previously unknown to science: for example, dark matter (these are the mysterious particles that make up 73% of the universe) or gravitational waves (they are trying to detect them using the LIGO observatory, which consists of two observatories, which are located at a distance of 3000 km from each other). It is best to do with telescopes for these purposes, as with all other devices - send them into space.
Why send telescopes into space?
The surface of the earth is not the best place for observing space. Our planet creates a lot of interference. First, the air in the planet's atmosphere works like a lens: it distorts light from celestial objects in a random, unpredictable order - and distorts the way we see them. In addition, the atmosphere absorbs many types of radiation, such as infrared and ultraviolet waves. To get around this interference, telescopes are sent into space. True, this is very expensive, so this is rarely done: throughout history, we have sent about 100 telescopes of various sizes into space - in fact, this is not enough, even large optical telescopes on Earth are several times larger. The most famous space telescope is the Hubble, and the James Webb Telescope, which is due to launch in 2018, will become something of its successor.
How expensive is it?
A powerful space telescope is very expensive. Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the launch of Hubble, the world's most famous space telescope. About $ 10 billion was allocated for it for the entire time; part of this money was for repairs, because the Hubble had to be repaired regularly (this was stopped in 2009, but the telescope is still working). Soon after the launch of the telescope, a silly story happened: the first images it took were of much poorer quality than expected. It turned out that due to a tiny error in the calculations, the Hubble mirror was not level enough, and a whole team of astronauts had to be sent to fix it. It cost about $ 8 million. The price of the James Webb telescope may change and is likely to grow closer to launch, but so far it is about $ 8 billion - and it is worth every cent.
What's so special
in the James Webb Telescope?
It will be the most impressive telescope in human history. The project was conceived back in the mid-90s, and now it is finally coming to its final stage. The telescope will fly 1.5 million km from the Earth and enter an orbit around the Sun, or rather to the second Lagrange point from the Sun and the Earth - this is the place where gravitational forces two objects are balanced, and therefore the third object (in this case, a telescope) can remain motionless. James Webb's telescope is too big to fit into a rocket, so it will fly when folded, and in space it will open like a transforming flower; look at this video to understand how this happens.
After that, he will be able to look farther than any telescope in history: at 13 billion light years from Earth. Since light, as you might guess, travels at the speed of light, the objects we see are in the past. Roughly speaking, when you look at a star through a telescope, you see it as it looked tens, hundreds, thousands and so on of years ago. Therefore, the James Webb Telescope will see the first stars and galaxies as they were after the Big Bang. This is very important: we will better understand how galaxies were formed, stars and planetary systems appeared, we will be able to better understand the origin of life. Perhaps the James Webb Telescope will even help us extraterrestrial life. There is one thing: a lot of things can go wrong during the mission, and since the telescope will be very far from Earth, it will be impossible to send it to be repaired, as was the case with the Hubble.
What's the practical point of all this?
This is a question that astronomy often asks, especially considering how much money is spent on it. Two answers can be given to it: firstly, not everything, especially science, should be clear practical sense... Astronomy and telescopes help us better understand the place of humanity in the Universe and the structure of the world in general. Secondly, astronomy still has practical benefits. Astronomy is directly related to physics: understanding astronomy, we understand physics much better, because there are physical phenomena that cannot be observed on Earth. For example, if astronomers prove the existence of dark matter, this will greatly affect physics. In addition, many technologies invented for space and astronomy are also used in everyday life: You can think of satellites that are now used for everything from television to GPS navigation. Finally, astronomy will be very important in the future: in order to survive, humanity will need to extract energy from the Sun and fossils from asteroids, settle in other planets and, possibly, communicate with alien civilizations - all this will be impossible if we do not develop astronomy and telescopes now ...