Einstein Probe: China launches powerful space X-ray observatory to understand flashes in the night sky
- The probe could observe almost the entire night sky in just three orbits around Earth, or under five hours
- Project is led by Chinese researchers with instrument contributions from European Space Agency and Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany
China has launched a new-generation X-ray observatory to monitor flashes in the night sky and help advance understanding of tumultuous cosmic events, such as neutron stars collisions and black holes devouring their companion stars.
01:56
China’s Shenzhou 16 space crew returns to Earth after 5 months in orbit
It will also use the Follow-up X-ray Telescope to zoom in on the new X-ray sources or events for high-resolution observations over the five years it will operate.
First planned a decade ago, the Einstein Probe is led by researchers of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has major instrument contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany.
The mission’s chief scientist, Yuan Weimin from the National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing, said the probe’s detection ability was more than an order of magnitude higher than that of similar telescopes in the world.
“It can detect more distant and weaker signals, see them more clearly, and locate them more accurately,” Yuan told China Science Daily.