The image that opens this post is Starkiller Base from Star Wars, a military base located on the ice planet Ilum located in the Unknown Regions, which served as a stronghold for the First Order 30 years after the Battle of Endor. Very similar to the base is this hypertelescope that scientists plan to develop on Earth and for the Moon. Yes, in real life.
Space exploration and observation of the universe have advanced significantly with the development of ground-based and space-based telescopes. Now, a new article on arXiv (via Science Alert) suggests that the next leap in astronomical observation could be on the Moon, with the construction of a giant hypertelescope that seems straight out of science fiction.
The authors of the article propose a basic optical telescope that takes advantage of the lunar terrain. Instead of a large primary mirror, this hypertelescope would use a set of mirrors arranged along the terrain of a lunar crater.
A hypertelescope could use a set of mirrors as a primary mirror arranged along the terrain of a crater. Then, the telescope’s detector array could be suspended by a cablesimilar to how the Arecibo Observatory detectors were suspended above the mesh dish.
The key is in the size of the mirrors
The following image is conceptual, but the design has a certain striking resemblance to the construction of Starkiller Base from Star Wars.
Since the mirrors would not have to be large, They would be much easier to buildand the overall shape of the crater would mean that fewer “earthworks” would be needed to move them into place.
A variant of this idea would be place mirrors on one side of the crater and instrumentation on the other. This would allow a very long focal length, so the observation range of such a telescope would be limited.
All of these ideas are still in their early stages and there are serious challenges that would need to be overcome beyond construction. For example, dust would accumulate on mirrors over time and would need to be removed. Although the Moon has much less seismic activity than Earth, it could still affect the alignment of mirrors and detectors. But beyond the challenges, It is clear that a lunar observatory is a matter of time.