China's 'incredibly sensitive' space telescope will monitor universe's most violent explosions

Scientists in China are collaborating with European researchers to create an incredibly sensitive space telescope designed to monitor the universe's most violent explosions, media reports said. This project, known as the Polar-2 mission, is a joint effort involving scientists from Switzerland, Poland, Germany, and China. The goal of the mission is to deliver this ultimate telescope to China's Tiangong space station in 2025.

Studying Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs)

The primary objective of the Polar-2 mission is to monitor any gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are energetic particles of light resulting from some of the most powerful cosmic explosions since the Big Bang.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Also Read |Green Climate Fund's new head aims to include left-out communities in climate finance

These bursts, known for their intense and brief flashes of gamma radiation, have remained poorly understood despite their discovery over five decades ago,a physicist from the University of Geneva,Nicolas Produit, said at theInternational Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday (Oct 4).

One theory suggests that GRBs originate from the core of explosions triggered by events like the birth of a black hole or the collision of dense, spinning cores of collapsed stars.

However, due to the random nature of GRBs, in terms of their time of occurrence in the universe and the place where they happen, studying them has proven challenging.

Polar-2's significance

Polar-2 mission followsthe success of its predecessor mission. The earlier mission was a collaboration between researchers from Switzerland, China, and Poland.

The focus of that mission was to shed light on the structure, magnetic fields, and emission mechanisms of GRBs.

Also Read |Typhoon Koinu kills one in Taiwan; China braces for storm

The team developed a GRB polarimeter that spent six months aboard China's Tiangong-2 space lab. What it did wasmeasure the rotation angle of light particles detected by a gamma-ray detector.

Polar-2 is bigger and more sensitive

Building on the success and insights from the first mission, Polar-2 has similar technologies, however, things are at a much larger scale this time.

Watch |Inflation hits Canada hard this Thanksgiving

It is four times larger and ten times more sensitive than its predecessor. It is due to the advancements such as silicon-based photomultiplier tubes,Produit said during his speech.

Polar-2 is one of seven international experiments selected by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs to be hosted by the Tiangong space station.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.