NASA is launching a new space telescope more powerful than its James Webb counterpart which will be able to shed more light on how the universe began.
The new project, SPHEREx, cost just a fraction of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which launched back in 2021; $488 million compared to JWST's $10 billion.
Despite costing less money, SPHEREx is set to be even more powerful and will provide astronomers with a 'big-picture view of the cosmos like none before', NASA says.
How will SPHEREx work?
Shaped like a megaphone, SPHEREx is made up of three mirrors which will help take 600 exposures of the sky each day, surveying the entire sky about once every six months.
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It uses infrared light technology to map the entire night sky in 102 different colors. JWST, in comparison, focuses on specific deep-space targets, including the first light in the universe, the assembly of galaxies in the early universe, the birth of stars and protoplanetary systems and planets.
NASA said SPHEREx, which should launch into space 'no earlier' than February 27, aims to complete 'four all-sky maps in its 27-month primary mission'.
The new telescope just is 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) tall and 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) wide - slightly larger than the JWST.
How will it help answer questions about the beginning of time?
SPHEREx is set to probe into the origins of our universe, firstly by helping to map the distribution of more than 450 million galaxies.
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As NASA explained: "In the first billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the big bang, the universe increased in size by a trillion-trillionfold.
"Called inflation, this nearly instantaneous event took place almost 14 billion years ago, and its effects can be found today in the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe."
SPHEREx's infrared mapping will help to improve scientists' understanding of the physics behind the Big Bang.
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It's also set to map out more than 100 million stars in our Milky Way, as well as further explore the 'building blocks of life' found frozen in 'interstellar clouds of gas and dust,' NASA said.
A 'complete picture' of the 'collective glow' from other galaxies near and far will also be built, giving scientists even more insight into the major sources of light in the universe.
Topics: NASA, Space, Science, Technology
Ellie Kemp