A novel telescope, funded by billionaire Alex Gerko, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the universe’s large-scale structure. Dubbed MOTHRA – the Massive Optical Telephoto Hyperspectral Robotic Array – the project aims to create a detailed “cartography of the universe” by mapping the cosmic web, the network of gas and dark matter connecting galaxies. Construction is currently underway at the El Sauce Observatory in Chile, with the telescope expected to provide unprecedented insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Unlike traditional telescopes that rely on large mirrors, MOTHRA employs a novel distributed-aperture design. It utilizes 1,140 high-end Canon telephoto lenses, similar to those used by professional photographers, working in concert to synthesize the power of a much larger instrument. This innovative approach, backed by an estimated multi-million dollar investment from Gerko, founder and CEO of XTX Markets, allows for a more cost-effective and rapidly deployable solution compared to building massive, ground-based or space-based telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope, which is projected to cost over $2 billion and be completed around 2030. Dragonfly FRO announced the construction of MOTHRA on March 11, 2026.
A New Approach to Cosmic Exploration
The core mission of MOTHRA is to map the circumgalactic medium – the vast reservoir of gas surrounding galaxies – and to probe the cosmic web itself. This will be achieved through the apply of specialized filters designed to isolate the faint light emitted by hydrogen gas. According to the project’s website, MOTHRA will be capable of mapping this gas with a sensitivity at least an order of magnitude deeper than any other existing facility on Earth or in space. The telescope’s design allows for a six-degree field of view, enabling it to survey large areas of the sky efficiently.
The project builds upon the success of the Dragonfly Telephoto Array, an earlier iteration of the technology that demonstrated the feasibility of using networked telephoto lenses for astrophysical research. The Dragonfly array achieved breakthroughs in revealing extremely faint structures, such as ultra-diffuse galaxies and vast stellar halos, previously invisible to conventional telescopes. MOTHRA represents a significant upgrade, increasing the number of lenses from the Dragonfly’s to 1,140.
The Team Behind MOTHRA
Dragonfly FRO, LLC, a Focused Research Organization (FRO), is the entity responsible for building and operating MOTHRA. The FRO was founded in January 2025 and is funded and supported by Alex Gerko. The team is led by University of Toronto astronomer Roberto Abraham, who described the project as a sincere desire to “do science in a faster and better way.” The project is a collaboration between researchers from multiple institutions, leveraging expertise in optics, robotics, and data analysis.
The telescope’s unique design was partially inspired by the compound eyes of a moth, a nod to its namesake from Japanese monster movies. As explained in The Globe and Mail, the project aims to explore the universe in a different way than traditional large telescopes.
Technical Specifications and Capabilities
MOTHRA is comprised of 30 mounts, each carrying 38 Canon telephoto lenses equipped with tiltable ultra-narrow interference filters. Once complete, the system will be optically equivalent to a 4.8-meter f/0.08 refractor, operating as an R=800 integral field spectrometer. This configuration will allow MOTHRA to map the distribution of hydrogen gas with unprecedented precision, revealing the hidden reservoirs from which galaxies form, and evolve. The telescope is designed to probe galactic feedback, exploring how galaxies grow within their dark matter halos.
The project’s website, mothratelescope.org, details the mission, team, and technology behind MOTHRA, and provides updates on the construction progress.
As construction progresses at the El Sauce Observatory, the astronomical community eagerly anticipates the first light from MOTHRA. The data collected by this innovative telescope promises to unlock new insights into the fundamental nature of the universe and its evolution, offering a fresh perspective on the cosmic web and the galaxies within it. The next phase will focus on completing the remaining mounts and calibrating the system for optimal performance.
What are your thoughts on this new approach to telescope design? Share your comments below and let us know what discoveries you hope MOTHRA will create.
