Astronomers Gear Up to Explore the Universe from the Moon

Astronomers worldwide, including a team from India with the project PRATUSH, are gearing up to use the moon as a base for high-resolution telescopes. This initiative aims to bypass the earth's atmospheric and electromagnetic interferences, offering a clearer view of the cosmos.

Key Insights:

• Strategic Location: The far side of the moon, shielded from earth's radio transmissions and solar plasma winds, presents an ideal location for both optical and radio telescopes.

• Past Challenges: Earth's polluted skies and the ionosphere have historically obstructed clear celestial observations, motivating the move to lunar-based astronomy.

• Cost vs. Opportunity: The high cost of lunar missions has been a deterrent, but renewed space exploration interest has made the moon the focus for establishing a "radio-quiet" observation point.

Innovative Projects on the Horizon:

• LuSEE Night: A joint NASA-Berkeley Lab project planning to study the universe's Dark Ages by landing on the moon's far side in December 2025.

• European Space Agency (ESA) Initiatives: Preparations to launch a radio telescope on the moon’s far side by 2030, along with other projects focusing on gravitational waves and infrared astronomy.

• China's Ambitions: With plans to launch a moon-orbiting radio telescope in 2026, China could be among the first to deploy lunar-based astronomical instruments.

India's PRATUSH Initiative:

• Objective: To study the early universe by capturing radio noise from the cosmic Dark Ages, PRATUSH represents India's foray into lunar-based astronomy.

• Collaboration: The Raman Research Institute, in partnership with ISRO, is developing PRATUSH to operate in lunar orbit, minimizing radio frequency interference and ionospheric impact.

Implications for Astronomical Research:

• Placing telescopes on the moon's far side opens new avenues for studying the universe's mysteries, including dark energy, primordial black holes, and the early cosmic period known as the Dark Ages.

• Astronomical Community's Excitement: These lunar-based projects signal an era of significant discoveries, potentially unraveling long-standing cosmic puzzles.

Additional Information to Remember:

• The transition to lunar-based telescopes underscores the limitations of earth-based observations and the potential of the moon as a pristine platform for astronomical research.

• The success of these missions could revolutionize our understanding of the universe, offering unprecedented insights into its earliest phases and fundamental forces.

Keywords to Remember:

• Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): The oldest light in the universe, providing crucial insights into its early state post-Big Bang.

• Dark Ages: A period following the CMB's dispersion, characterized by the universe's expansion and the formation of its first stars and galaxies.

• Radio Frequency Interference (RFI): Electromagnetic noise from earth-based sources that complicates celestial observations.

• PRATUSH – Probing ReionisATion of the Universe using Signal from Hydrogen
  

Reason it's important : India among countries mulling telescopes on, around the moon

Published in : The Hindu

Date appeared in newspaper : 04 April 2024

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