A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole
The proposed lunar telescope for optical and infrared astronomy aims at very large aperture, 600 m 2 , at a fundable cost. It comprises an array of 18 separate telescopes, each of 6.5 m aperture. The 200 m diameter array will be located within 1/2° (15 km) of a lunar pole on approximately level grou...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Royal Society
2024
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 |
id |
crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 2024-06-02T08:14:35+00:00 A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole Angel, Roger College of Science, University of Arizona 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 en eng The Royal Society http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 382, issue 2271 ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962 journal-article 2024 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 2024-05-07T14:16:36Z The proposed lunar telescope for optical and infrared astronomy aims at very large aperture, 600 m 2 , at a fundable cost. It comprises an array of 18 separate telescopes, each of 6.5 m aperture. The 200 m diameter array will be located within 1/2° (15 km) of a lunar pole on approximately level ground, with a perimeter screen deployed to provide shade and cooling to cryogenic temperature. The 500 m diameter screen will allow unobscured access down to 8° elevation. All 18 telescopes will reflect light into a central beam combiner to form a single image covering wavelengths from 0.4 µm to 10 µm. The initial instrument complement will include high-resolution and multi-object spectrographs to exploit the single combined field of view of two arcminute diameter, with the diffraction limited resolution of 6.5 m aperture. Scientific applications include the search for molecular biosignatures in transiting exoplanets, and the study of galaxy evolution using red-shifted spectra to beyond z = 10. The array cost, including delivery to the Moon by SpaceX Starship for installation using lunar base infrastructure, is around $10 billion, similar to that of the 25 m 2 JWST. To test the concept, first a single prototype 6.5 m unit would be operated at the lunar south pole. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)’. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole The Royal Society South Pole Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 382 2271 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
op_collection_id |
crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
The proposed lunar telescope for optical and infrared astronomy aims at very large aperture, 600 m 2 , at a fundable cost. It comprises an array of 18 separate telescopes, each of 6.5 m aperture. The 200 m diameter array will be located within 1/2° (15 km) of a lunar pole on approximately level ground, with a perimeter screen deployed to provide shade and cooling to cryogenic temperature. The 500 m diameter screen will allow unobscured access down to 8° elevation. All 18 telescopes will reflect light into a central beam combiner to form a single image covering wavelengths from 0.4 µm to 10 µm. The initial instrument complement will include high-resolution and multi-object spectrographs to exploit the single combined field of view of two arcminute diameter, with the diffraction limited resolution of 6.5 m aperture. Scientific applications include the search for molecular biosignatures in transiting exoplanets, and the study of galaxy evolution using red-shifted spectra to beyond z = 10. The array cost, including delivery to the Moon by SpaceX Starship for installation using lunar base infrastructure, is around $10 billion, similar to that of the 25 m 2 JWST. To test the concept, first a single prototype 6.5 m unit would be operated at the lunar south pole. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Astronomy from the Moon: the next decades (part 2)’. |
author2 |
College of Science, University of Arizona |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Angel, Roger |
spellingShingle |
Angel, Roger A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
author_facet |
Angel, Roger |
author_sort |
Angel, Roger |
title |
A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
title_short |
A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
title_full |
A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
title_fullStr |
A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
title_full_unstemmed |
A 600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
title_sort |
600 m 2 array of 6.5 m telescopes at the lunar pole |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 |
geographic |
South Pole |
geographic_facet |
South Pole |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 382, issue 2271 ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2023.0076 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
container_volume |
382 |
container_issue |
2271 |
_version_ |
1800738501302419456 |