By Apoorva Khandelwal
Navigating vast oceans was done throughout history by looking at the sky. There has always been a significant impact on our world view by astronomy. Driving innovation and answering fundamental questions, astronomy and related fields are cutting edge of technology and science. Shaping the future and probing the mysteries of the universe, the incredible bit of technology is part of a global family. I am going to be telling you about four new ways the Universe is going to be explored.
One of ways to observe the universe is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) or sometimes referred to as Webb is a telescope. The JWST is a primary mirror of 6.5 meters. It studies numerous phases such as the evolution of the solar system to the universe’s history. It was originally called Next Generation Space Technology (NGST) but renamed in 2002 for a NASA administrator. NASA partnered up with European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency for Webb. Webb is the largest technology made for space so far. It is 100 times more powerful than Hubble. The JWST’s job is to orbit the sun. One key fact is that it will launch in 2021 from French Guiana and the lifetime mission is 5-10+ years.
Arranged on the top of a peak, the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is the world’s biggest eye on the sky. Important centers for astronomical observations are in Chile due to them having one of the clearest skies in the world. Addressing unsolved questions about the universe, the ELT is a 40 meter telescope. 13 times more light is captured by the Extremely Large Telescope than the largest optical telescope today. This project is ranked in the 2010-2025 as a top priority for the future.
The Square Kilometre Array is a multi-billion dollar project. This project is an international effort and is the largest radio telescope. Collecting an area of over a square kilometer, the SKA is a major leap in areas of development, engineering, and research. Just like other telescopes, it will be discovering what is unknown about the Universe. South Africa’s Karoo Region and Western Australia’s Murchison Shire are the two co-hosts of this important project. The core of high and mid frequency dishes of the SKA is hosted by South Africa’s Karoo Region, while Western Australia’s Murchison Shire hosts the low-frequency antennas.
Our fourth piece of technology is Gaia. What if we had a map of our galaxy and could solve questions about the Universe with that? That is exactly what Gaia does. It’s mission is to survey more than thousand million stars. New celestial objects such as brown dwarfs, extrasolar planets, and asteroids are supposed to be discovered by Gaia. Mapping lumosity, temperature, motions, and composition of stars throughout the Galaxy and beyond will allow Gaia to create an accurate 3-dimension map. Approved in 2000, Gaia is a ESA Cornerstone mission. There were no partnerships for this project, it is fully a European mission.
Technology has made an impact on our everyday lives and does the same for science. Technology is a part of the global family, allowing it to shape the future.
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