China wants to put a small constellation of satellites into orbit of the moon to create a radio telescope that will open a “new window” to the universe. The array will consist of one “parent” satellite and eight mini “child” satellites. The mother will process the data and communicate with her by landXulei Chen, an astronomer with the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said at the conference that her daughters will detect radio signals from the farthest reaches of space. Moon Astronomythis has happened before. It’s in London this year, according to space.com.

Placing such an array in orbit around the Moon it was technically it would be more convenient than construction telescope directly on the lunar surfaceIt’s an initiative that NASA and other space agencies now see as one of the next big steps in astronomy.

“There are a number of advantages to doing it in orbit rather than on the surface because it’s much easier from an engineering standpoint,” Chen said during the conference. “There’s no need to land and deploy, and since the moon’s orbital period is two hours, we can use solar energy, which is much easier than doing it on the moon’s surface, if you want to observe this during the moon at night, then you have to provide energy for about 14 days.” He added that the proposed Longest Wavelength Sky Discovery, or Honmeng project, could enter lunar orbit as early as 2026.

Why would we build a lunar telescope?

Astronomers say a telescope on the Moon will eventually allow them to see cosmic radiation in a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that cannot be studied from Earth’s surface: radio waves longer than 33 feet (10 meters), or in other words, those with frequencies below 30 megahertz (MHz).

“If you look at the low-frequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum, you’ll see that it’s because of strong absorption. [атмосферою Землі] we know very little about [регіон] Below 30 megahertz,” said Chen. “This is an almost empty part of the electromagnetic spectrum. We want to explore this last one. electromagnetic window of the universe“.

There’s a reason astronomers are interested in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum. They believe that this type of radiation could allow them to look inside the so-called. dark agesthe first few hundred million years after the birth of the universe Big Bang.

At that time, the nascent universe was filled with an impenetrable fog of hydrogen atoms. Even when the first ones begin to form starsAt first, their light could not break through this fog. But astronomers know that this atomic hydrogen itself emits a type of signal known as the 21-centimeter line. according to the astronomer Ian Crawford A 21cm long line from University College London, part of the microwave range of the electromagnetic spectrum, is helping astronomers track hydrogen clouds in our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Way, starting from the 1950s.

But when looking for the 21 cm line from the earliest period of the universe, astronomers have to look for radiation with much longer wavelengths. Since the effect redshiftdue to accelerated expansion of the universe, Extending electromagnetic radiation from sources moving away from us to longer wavelengths, microwave radiation emitted by hydrogen atoms in the early universe seems like a long radio to observers on Earth today. waves. And this is exactly electromagnetic radiation invisible from the surface of the planet.

However, the far side of the moon is probably the best place to be. solar system To find this mysterious signal. Far from Earth’s atmosphere, the far side of the Moon is also shielded from artificial radio interference. On a moonlit night, it also moves away from the sun, which is a powerful source of radio waves. Astronomers say the far side of the moon is actually the quietest place in the entire solar system.