Since Galileo 400 years ago, the telescope has been the core instrument of astronomy, using lenses and mirrors to direct and magnify the light of distant stars to our eyes. But now, a new telescope has been designed that could radically change the traditional approach.
Lockheed Martin is developing a telescope that trades the bulky structure of current two-mirror models for a thin layer of hundreds (or potentially thousands) of tiny lenses that transmit the image to a silicon chip, similar to the camera in smartphones.
The system is called SPIDER (Segmented Planar Imaging Detector for Electro-optical Reconnaissance), and works on the principle of interferometry, a technique in which two light waves coming from the same source are combined to improve the resolution of an image. This is not a new technique in astronomy, but miniaturizing it has the potential to be revolutionary.
SPIDER detectors reduce the size, weight, and power needs by 10 to 100 times, which could make a significant difference when it comes to planning space observatories. Although it’s currently a simple prototype, it is significantly more versatile than any other telescope. A SPIDER can be produced in just a few weeks, it’s scalable, and it's easy to repurpose and repair. Regular telescopes have to be designed precisely and they take years to be built.
“We can only scale the size and weight of telescopes so much before it becomes impractical to launch them into orbit and beyond,” said Danielle Wuchenich, senior research scientist at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center, in a statement.
What a future telescope using the SPIDER technology might look like. Lockheed Martin
SPIDER was developed with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and with research partners at the University of California, Davis. The technology is not only applicable to astronomy, but also to safety sensors in cars, as well as reconnaissance instruments. The team believes it will need between five to 10 years before it’s employed.
“SPIDER has the potential to enable exciting discoveries by putting high-resolution imaging systems within outer planet system orbits such as Saturn and Jupiter,” said Alan Duncan, a senior fellow at Lockheed Martin, in a statement. “The ability to reduce size, weight and power could significantly change the game. With 10 to 100 times the resolution of a comparable-weight traditional telescope, imagine what you could discover.”
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