2024-03-26 21:06:13
The European space probe Euclid regained its ability to observe space after scientists discovered a way to remove snow from one of its mirrors. The probe is designed to search for dark matter and energy.
The European Space Agency in Paris announced today, Tuesday, that the problems caused by thin layers of ice on the telescope lenses have been solved in a new way. The defrosting process included heating the telescope’s mirrors individually using internal heaters.
Warming the coldest mirror behind the lenses by 34 degrees Celsius, from minus 147 to minus 113 degrees, enabled the probe to discern an additional 15% of light almost instantly.
The European Space Agency quoted Misha Shermer, one of the scientists involved in developing the plan, as saying, “I was sure that we would see a tremendous improvement, but not in this amazing way.”
Scientists assume that thin layers of ice will continue to form on the lenses in the future, but the process will be easy to repeat every six to 12 months. The Euclid probe was launched last summer.
Its most important part is a high-resolution telescope equipped with two cameras, one for the visible wavelength range and the other for the near-infrared range. The telescope aims to collect data on billions of galaxies and draw a three-dimensional map of the universe.
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