Telescope to get lobster vision

[tocqueville]

By Jonathan Amos
BBC News science reporter, Leicester

Lobster All-Sky X-ray Monitor is currently in development
The lobster is the inspiration for a new type of European X-ray telescope.

The observatory is designed to have an extremely wide field of view - just as the crustacean manages with its vision.

The animal achieves this using a huge array of tiny channels that focus light by reflection, rather than by bending it through lenses found in human eyes.

A UK-led team is now building a similar set-up for a telescope that will sweep the sky for sudden, violent events, such as black holes swallowing stars.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4880032.stm

[sakabatou]

1. Like the mirror 'scope in Hawaii

[TheMadMonk]

2. Nothing like it. Ordinary mirrors eat x-rays for breakfast.

X-rays are focused using glancing incidence mirrors. X-rays that strike any material surface to "straight on" get adsorbed. For them to be reflected, they have to hit the reflectic surface at a ver6y tight angle, only a few degrees away from the tangental angle.


The standard design being a number of coaxial (concentric) nearly cylindrical mirrors.

Had a quick look for a graphic but couldn't find one.

[sakabatou]

3. Ok. My mistake.

[Tesha]

4. Here' are some images...

http://www.stanford.edu/group/glam/xlab/XPert/IncBeam.htm



http://www.firstscience.com/