The more the better! Scientists want to build a telescope the size of Nebraska

The more the better! Scientists want to build a telescope the size of Nebraska

When it comes to telescopes, size matters. And if more precisely, the more, the better. Larger telescopes guarantee more collected light, which provides better resolution and the ability to display weak and additional objects in space. But for most telescopes, even a small increase entails an exponentially greater cost. Fortunately, this problem does not apply to radio telescopes that collect radio waves, and not visible light. Therefore, astronomers propose to create a new radio telescope the size of Nebraska.

Radio telescopes are easily scalable because the radio waves are long enough to add several separate antennas to one telescope. Many of the largest radio telescopes are represented by dozens of small dishes and antennas, which combine to form a single size.

Massive new telescope called GRAND (giant radio relay array for the detection of neutrinos). GRAND's large scale will allow it to hunt for high-energy space particles. If you manage to find them, then scientists will be able to learn a lot of useful information about large galaxies in the Universe and the early stages of space development. GRAND is set up to search for neutrinos — exotic particles emitted by stars, like the Sun, and black holes in galactic centers. They will help to bring scientists to ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Most likely, the most energetic particles appear in the most powerful galaxies of the early Universe, where blazars released cosmic rays millions of times stronger than the sun.

When neutrinos reach the planet, they often collide with particles in the air or on Earth, creating streams of secondary particles. These elements can be caught by radio antennas, which allows us to determine the trajectory of the original neutrinos and determine their source.

To maximize the efficiency of radio antennas, researchers plan to locate them in mountain valleys, where neutrinos have the highest probability of colliding with air and the surface. The planned area will cover 80,000 square miles. Antennas will be built in groups of 10,000 pieces. If everything goes well, the first neutrinos will be fixed by 2025. The full configuration will be completed in the 2030s. with a total of 200,000 antennas.

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