SPHEREx will not image galaxies in the detail of the Hubble and Webb telescopes, but will instead observe the total luminosity of entire galaxy groups, including those formed after the Big Bang.
SPHEREx: NASA's new space telescope, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer), successfully launched on Tuesday. Its goal is to create a map of the entire sky, a feat never before accomplished. SpaceX launched the observatory from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California; it will orbit above Earth's poles. Four smaller satellites designed to study the Sun were also launched alongside it.
How will SPHEREx work?
SPHEREx will not observe galaxies in detail like the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. Instead, it will survey the entire sky and record the total luminosity emitted by groups of galaxies. Its primary objective is to understand how the universe formed and evolved. Using this telescope, scientists will be able to analyze the light from early galaxies formed after the Big Bang.
Searching for signs of life in icy clouds
A major objective of this $488 million mission is to search for water and other elements essential for life in icy clouds between stars. It will conduct crucial research in the Milky Way galaxy, where new solar systems are forming.
SPHEREx's structure and functionality
The cone-shaped SPHEREx telescope weighs approximately 500 kilograms, about as much as a grand piano. It is equipped with infrared sensors that will take six months to survey the entire sky. Over the next two years, it will scan the entire sky four times as it orbits Earth in a polar orbit 400 miles (650 kilometers) above the surface.
SPHEREx will study cosmic luminosity
According to Jamie Bock, the mission's principal investigator, this telescope will study the combined luminosity of all light sources in the universe. This will allow scientists to understand which sources have been overlooked until now.
Unveiling the mysteries of the universe's origin
SPHEREx's infrared detectors can identify 102 distinct colors invisible to the naked human eye. This will create the most colorful and comprehensive map of the universe yet. Beth Fabinsky, the deputy project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, said it will be like "seeing the universe through rainbow glasses."
