NASA is preparing to launch a new space telescope called "UVEX" (Ultraviolet Explorer) with the goal of studying some of the most violent and turbulent events in the universe by observing it in ultraviolet light, which will help scientists understand star explosions, neutron star mergers, and galaxy evolution.

According to the “space” website, the telescope is scheduled for launch in 2031. It will be the first space mission to create deep and comprehensive maps of the entire sky using ultraviolet light, joining a group of observatories that study the universe in different wavelengths, such as NASA's "SPHEREx" telescope, which observes infrared radiation, and the "Vera Rubin" observatory, which monitors the sky in the visible spectrum.

The UVEX mission costs around $590 million. It was developed by NASA in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to expand astronomical research, starting from studying the smallest galaxies to observing the effects of neutron star mergers and cosmic explosions.

Ultraviolet light reveals hidden galaxies and stars

The new telescope will benefit from advanced sensor technologies developed by Caltech that rely on complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, giving it greater sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation.

This technology will enable UVEX to detect millions of nearby, small, and faint galaxies containing newly formed stars that emit large amounts of ultraviolet radiation.

Fiona Harrison, the mission’s principal investigator and a professor of physics at Caltech, explained that observing these galaxies using visible light may make it difficult to distinguish between nearby and distant galaxies that look similar. However, ultraviolet radiation helps identify nearby galaxies more easily.

Observing star explosions and deaths
 

The telescope’s mission will not only be limited to studying newly formed galaxies and stars but also include observing the final stages of the life of massive stars, particularly supernovae explosions.

These explosions occur when the fuel required for nuclear fusion within a massive star runs out. The star can no longer resist the effects of gravity, causing its core to collapse and its outer layers to explode in a massive explosion.

This phenomenon is very important because the explosions launch heavy elements that are formed inside stars into surrounding galaxies. These elements later become essential materials for forming new generations of stars, planets, and perhaps even life.

The telescope observes neutron star mergers
 

Another key objective of the mission is to study the merging of neutron stars, which are the extremely dense remnants of massive stars that exploded at the end of their lives.

Neutron stars contain a mass ranging from the mass of the sun to twice its mass, despite having a diameter of only about 20 kilometers. This makes their density incredibly high; the weight of a small spoonful of their material can exceed one billion tons.

When two neutron stars approach each other and orbit around one another before merging, a violent environment is created. This is one of the few known places where elements heavier than lead are formed, such as gold, silver and platinum.

Currently scientists observe these mergers through gravitational waves, which are ripples in spacetime, then follow up their effects using different types of electromagnetic radiation, from high-energy gamma rays to radio waves.

The UVEX telescope is expected to add a new dimension to these studies by observing the effects of such events in ultraviolet light, especially in the initial stages immediately following the merger.

The ability of the telescope to change its direction quickly will give it an important advantage. It will be able to direct its instruments towards cosmic explosions shortly after they occur, which is a capability that the Hubble telescope does not have as efficiently, despite having ultraviolet observation capabilities.