NASA's SPHEREx telescope launches to explore universe's origins
NASA has launched the SPHEREx telescope to map the entire sky and study the universe's beginnings. The device was launched into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The SPHEREx space telescope began its mission after being launched into orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, departing from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Its primary goal is to create a comprehensive map of the sky and investigate the origins of the universe. Scientists will also use it to search for water in the Milky Way galaxy.
During its two-year mission, SPHEREx will gather data on over 450 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. The result will be a three-dimensional map of space, displaying 102 colors corresponding to different wavelengths of light. Phil Korngut, a scientist from Caltech involved with the project, highlights that the telescope aims to explore the universe's origins, particularly the initial moments following the Big Bang.
SPHEREx is really trying to get at the origins of the universe - what happened in those very few first instants after the Big Bang—said the scientist quoted by the Reuters.
Searching for water and understanding inflation
SPHEREx will search for frozen water on the surfaces of interstellar dust grains in large clouds of gas and dust, which are the birthplaces of stars and planets. Shawn Domagal-Goldman from NASA explains that the telescope will investigate "echoes of the Big Bang,” which are fractions of a second after this event that have resonated in the observed areas.
Alongside the SPHEREx telescope, a constellation of satellites for NASA's PUNCH mission was launched to better understand the solar wind. Four suitcase-sized satellites will observe the Sun and its surroundings, creating a three-dimensional image of the solar corona. Nicholeen Viall from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center notes that the satellites will help understand how the solar corona transitions into the solar wind.
Together, they piece together the three-dimensional global view of the solar corona - the sun's atmosphere - as it turns into the solar wind, which is the material that fills our whole solar system—said Nicholeen Viall, a scientist for the PUNCH mission from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
The SPHEREx and PUNCH missions commenced after delays due to bad weather and technical issues with the rocket. Initially, the launch was planned for February 28.
