New Space Telescope Has a Resolution That's 1000 Times Sharper Than Hubble's

A new space telescope from NASA may be a breakthrough in terms of space exploration. The new telescope concept could image objects at a resolution that's 1,000 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.

The newly-proposed telescope would consist of an orbiting space telescope and an opaque disk in front of it that could be up to a half a mile across. Diffracted light waves from a target star or other object would bend around the edges of this disk and converge in a central point. This light would then be fed into the orbiting telescope and provide high-resolution images.

The new telescope concept is named the Aragoscope. In theory, it could allow scientists to image objects like black hole "event horizons" and plasma swaps between stars. Although it's just one of 12 proposals selected for Phase One funding in June 2014, it could potentially move forward and become reality. In April, NIAC will select six of the Phase One concepts for Phase Two funding.

"Traditionally, space telescopes have essentially been monolithic pieces of glass like the Hubble Space Telescope," said Anthony Harness, who is working on the project, in a news release. "But the heavier the space telescope, the more expensive the cost of the launch. We have found a way to solve that problem by putting large, lightweight optics into space that offer a much higher resolution and lower cost."

The telescope could be a new and more cost-effective way to image objects in space. With its high resolution, it could be huge in terms of better understanding our universe in the future. That said, it remains to be seen whether the Aragoscope will proceed to Phase Two funding in April.

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