NASA Launches SPHEREx Telescope to Explore the Universe's Origins

Photo : AFP

NASA sent a new telescope into space on Tuesday from California. The telescope’s mission is to study the beginning of the universe and look for hidden water in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Water is important because it is needed for life. The telescope is called SPHEREx, which stands for "Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer." It was launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Stay informed with the latest news. Follow DXB News Network on WhatsApp Channel  

SPHEREx will collect information about over 450 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars in our galaxy. The telescope will make a 3D map of space, using 102 colors of light. This will help scientists understand how galaxies have changed over time. One of the big things SPHEREx will study is called "cosmic inflation." This idea says that the universe grew very quickly right after the Big Bang, billions of years ago.

Phil Korngut, a scientist at Caltech, explained that SPHEREx is looking at the universe’s very first moments. The theory of cosmic inflation says that the universe went from being smaller than an atom to growing very large in a tiny amount of time.

Shawn Domagal-Goldman, a NASA leader, said SPHEREx will look for "echoes" from the Big Bang. These echoes can still be seen in the universe today. The telescope will look at light from stars, galaxies, and other objects in space. By studying this light, scientists will learn about the distance and makeup of these objects.

SPHEREx will also look for water in space. It will search through clouds of dust in space, where water might be frozen on tiny dust particles. Scientists believe that most of the water in the universe is found in these dust clouds, which also help stars and planets form.

At the same time, NASA also launched a mission called PUNCH. This mission is made up of four small satellites that will study the solar wind. The solar wind is a flow of charged particles from the sun that can affect Earth. These particles can cause problems with satellites and even cause power outages on Earth. The PUNCH satellites will help scientists understand how the solar wind forms and how it affects space and Earth.

Together, these two missions, SPHEREx and PUNCH, will help scientists learn more about the universe, the sun, and space weather. These missions will help us understand the beginning of the universe, the water that may exist in space, and how space weather can impact life on Earth.