A Chinese/European joint X-ray telescope mission is allowing humans to see the universe in widescreen — like a lobster.
The Einstein Probe, a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the European Space Agency, Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), has designed a telescope that mimics the vision of lobsters, Live Science reported.
The probe, which launched on January 9 aboard a Chinese rocket, is in a testing phase as it orbits the Earth. Its ground-breaking observations were unveiled at a recent symposium in Beijing.
China’s Einstein Probe (EP) astronomical #satellite, launched this January, has captured its first in-orbit detection images. With new X-ray detection tech to observe the universe’s transient phenomena, EP has so far detected 17 X-ray transients & 127 stellar flares. #ChinaTech pic.twitter.com/l3xMiWcHgS
— China Science (@ChinaScience) April 28, 2024
“They illustrate the satellite’s full potential and show that its novel optics, which mimic a lobster’s eyes, are ready to monitor the X-ray sky. The space X-ray telescope zoomed in on a few well-known celestial objects to give us a hint of what the mission is capable of,” the European Space agency announced.
The use of crustacean vision over models based on human eyesight was explained by Live Science:
Human eyes operate on the principle of refraction via a lens, aka the cornea. Lobsters, on the other hand, utilize reflection. Their eyes are a composite of tiny tubes arranged as parallel square pores on the surface of their eyes, with each tube pointing in a different direction. Light enters the tubes and is reflected down to the retina. Whereas human vision spans a field of about 120 degrees, lobsters have panoramic, 180-degree eyesight.
“I am delighted to see the first observations from Einstein Probe, which showcases the mission’s ability to study wide expanses of the X-ray sky and quickly discover new celestial sources,” said Carole Mundell, European Space Agency’s Director of Science, said.
“These early data give us a tantalizing glimpse of the high-energy dynamic universe that will soon be within reach of our science communities.”
The agency’s Einstein Probe project scientist, Erik Kuulkers, added that “it is astounding that even though the instruments were not yet full calibrated, we could already perform a time-critical follow-up observation using the FXT instrument of a fast X-ray transient first spotted by WXT.”
“It shows what Einstein Probe will be capable of during its survey,” he added.
The survey will last for three years, set to begin in June after the testing is complete.