Lobster eyes inspire Chinese scientists to study the universe.

Who would have guessed that lobsters would inspire an advanced telescope to allow us to explore the depths of space? In contrast, the Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy (LEIA), initially referred to as a Wide-field X-ray Telescope, was successful for researchers at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) (WXT).

Images revealed in August show that LEIA's 36 micro-pore lobster-eye spectacles and four large-array CMOS sensors are its most distinctive features.

The motivation

It was quickly realized that lobster eyes are unique due to their structure, which consists of multiple tiny square tubes all pointing to the same spherical centre. The lobster's vision is greatly improved by this structure.

An American scientist first proposed the idea of modelling a telescope like a lobster eye to detect X-rays in space in 1979. Until advancements in micro-processing technology made it possible, this concept remained unrealized for quite some time. Then, researchers created lobster-eye glasses with square holes as thick as human hair all across the lenses.

The NAOC X-ray Imaging Laboratory has been working on lobster-eye X-ray imaging technology since 2010, and they've recently made a significant advancement in the field.

High resolutions in the spectrum

The recently released LEIA not only has the highly anticipated lobster-eye glasses, but it also is a frontrunner in the installation of CMOS sensors, which are capable of processing with high spectrum resolutions.

Space-based X-ray astronomical research are now possible with the use of CMOS sensors. It is a significant advancement in the field of X-ray astronomy detecting technology, "Xinhua reported that NAOC researcher Ling Zhixing said.

He explained that the telescope's vast field of view allowed it to monitor X-ray fluctuations in cosmic objects more efficiently, making it possible to identify rare but intense cosmic occurrences.

Ling says his new X-ray telescope can survey an area of sky around the size of a thousand moons, while prior telescopes could only survey an area about the size of the moon as seen from Earth.

Ling speculates that the field of vision of the twelve similar telescopes mounted on the upcoming Einstein Probe satellite might be as vast as approximately 10,000 moons.

The LEIA was launched into space at the end of July atop a spacecraft driven by a solid-propellant rocket, and will be part of the Einstein Probe satellite, which is scheduled for flight at the end of 2023.By uncovering hitherto unknown black holes and tracking their distribution across the cosmos, the mission will contribute to our understanding of where and how these objects first formed.