ALongMarch-2CcarrierrocketcarryinganewastronomicalsatellitenamedEinsteinProbe(EP)blastsofffromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince,Jan.9,2024.Chinasentthesatellite,whichusesanewX-raydetectiontechnologyinspiredbythelobstereye,intospaceonTuesdaytoobservemysterioustransientphenomenaintheuniversecomparabletotheflickeringoffireworks,withtheaimofunveilingtheviolentandlittle-knownaspectsofthecosmos.Therocketwaslaunchedat3:03p.m.(BeijingTime)fromhere.(PhotobyZhangJing/Xinhua)XICHANG,Jan.9(Xinhua)--ChinaonTuesdaysentanewastronomicalsatelliteintospacetoobservemysterioustransientphenomenaintheuniversewhichflickerlikefireworks,tryingtorevealmoreaboutthisviolentandlittle-knownsideofthecosmos.ThesatellitenamedEinsteinProbe(EP),whichusesnewX-raydetectiontechnologyinspiredbythefunctioningofalobstereye,waslaunchedbyaLongMarch-2Ccarrierrocketat3:03p.m.(BeijingTime)fromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince.Weighingabout1.45tonnesandaslargeasafull-sizeSUV,thesatelliteisshapedlikealotusinfullbloomandfeatures12petalsandtwostamens."ThisisthemostbeautifulsatelliteI'veeverseen,"saidYuanWeimin,principalinvestigatoroftheEPmissionandaresearcherattheNationalAstronomicalObservatoriesoftheChineseAcademyofSciences(CAS).The12"petals"areactually12modulesconsistingofwide-fieldX-raytelescopes(WXT),whilethetwo"stamens"consistoftwomodulesoffollow-upX-raytelescopes(FXT).Thesetelescopesformaspaceobservatorywhichisaimedathelpingscientistscapturethefirstlightstemmingfromsupernovaexplosions,searchforandpinpointX-raysignalsaccompanyinggravitationalwaveevents,anddiscoverdormantblackholesandotherfainttransientandvariablecelestialobjectsatthefarreachesoftheuniverse."SinceblackholesandgravitationalwavesarepredictionsmadebyEinstein'stheoryofgeneralrelativity,thesatelliteisnamedafterthegreatscientist,"Yuansaid.ScientistsmimickedthespecialstructureofthelobstereyeindevelopingWXT,whichcansimultaneouslyachievewide-fieldobservationandX-rayfocusedimaging.TheWXTcankeepaneyeonone-twelfthoftheentireskyatoneglance,accordingtoLingZhixing,aWXTinstrumentscientist.FXT,developedbyaninternationalteamledbyChinesescientists,featurehighsensitivityandarenotonlysuitableforrapidfollow-upobservation,butalsoabletoindependentlydiscoverexplosiveandtransientsources,saidChenYong,aresearcherattheInstituteofHighEnergyPhysicsoftheCAS,whoisresponsibleforthedevelopmentofFXT.Whenlobster-eyetelescopesreceiveX-raysignalsfromatransientsource,theonboardcomputerwillprocessthedatainrealtimeandpivotthespacecrafttotargetthecelestialbodywithFXT.FXTwillthenconducthigh-precisionfollow-upobservation.Thetwotelescopeswillcomplementandcooperatewitheachother,saidZhangChen,assistanttotheEPmission'sprincipalinvestigator.TheteamalsodevelopedCMOSsensorsforX-rayobservationinspace,whichisaninnovativeX-rayastronomicaldetector,Zhangsaid.ALongMarch-2CcarrierrocketcarryinganewastronomicalsatellitenamedEinsteinProbe(EP)blastsofffromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince,Jan.9,2024.Chinasentthesatellite,whichusesanewX-raydetectiontechnologyinspiredbythelobstereye,intospaceonTuesdaytoobservemysterioustransientphenomenaintheuniversecomparabletotheflickeringoffireworks,withtheaimofunveilingtheviolentandlittle-knownaspectsofthecosmos.Therocketwaslaunchedat3:03p.m.(BeijingTime)fromhere.(PhotobyLingSiqin/Xinhua)ALongMarch-2CcarrierrocketcarryinganewastronomicalsatellitenamedEinsteinProbe(EP)blastsofffromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince,Jan.9,2024.Chinasentthesatellite,whichusesanewX-raydetectiontechnologyinspiredbythelobstereye,intospaceonTuesdaytoobservemysterioustransientphenomenaintheuniversecomparabletotheflickeringoffireworks,withtheaimofunveilingtheviolentandlittle-knownaspectsofthecosmos.Therocketwaslaunchedat3:03p.m.(BeijingTime)fromhere.(PhotobyQiuLijun/Xinhua)ALongMarch-2CcarrierrocketcarryinganewastronomicalsatellitenamedEinsteinProbe(EP)blastsofffromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince,Jan.9,2024.Chinasentthesatellite,whichusesanewX-raydetectiontechnologyinspiredbythelobstereye,intospaceonTuesdaytoobservemysterioustransientphenomenaintheuniversecomparabletotheflickeringoffireworks,withtheaimofunveilingtheviolentandlittle-knownaspectsofthecosmos.Therocketwaslaunchedat3:03p.m.(BeijingTime)fromhere.(PhotobyZhangJing/Xinhua)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.