The Future of Astronomy: What You Might Discover

Science

The greatest telescopes in history are being built right now. The Extremely Large Telescope, LISA, the Roman Space Telescope, the SKA, and the Vera Rubin Observatory will transform every field of astronomy. The discoveries waiting to be made might be yours.

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Q1 Question 1 of 10

What is the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), and what will its 39-metre mirror allow astronomers to do?

Q2 Question 2 of 10

What types of gravitational wave sources will LISA be able to detect that are beyond LIGO's reach?

Q3 Question 3 of 10

What is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's primary scientific mission?

Q4 Question 4 of 10

What is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), and what makes it uniquely powerful?

Q5 Question 5 of 10

What is the Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), and what kind of data will it produce?

Q6 Question 6 of 10

What does it mean to detect biosignatures in an exoplanet atmosphere, and which telescope is best positioned to attempt this first?

Q7 Question 7 of 10

What is pulsar timing and how do pulsar timing arrays potentially detect gravitational waves?

Q8 Question 8 of 10

What do astronomers mean by the epoch of reionization, and why do next-generation observatories focus on studying it?

Q9 Question 9 of 10

Why is it said that the golden age of astronomy is just beginning for students learning about space today?

Q10 Question 10 of 10

How can a ground-based telescope like the ELT achieve sharper images than the Hubble Space Telescope despite being in Earth's turbulent atmosphere?