Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, SPHEREx will create a map of the cosmos like no other. Using a technique called spectroscopy to image the entire sky in 102 wavelengths of infrared light, SPHEREx will gather information about the composition of and distance to millions of galaxies and stars. With this map, scientists will study what happened in the first fraction of a second after the big bang, how galaxies formed and evolved, and the origins of water in planetary systems in our galaxy.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems
NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory rests horizontally in this April 2024 image taken at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. This orientation shows the observatory’s three layers of photon shields – the metallic concentric cones.
Over a two-year planned mission, the SPHEREx Observatory will collect data on more than 450 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe.
Tune in at 12 p.m. EST Jan. 31, 2025, to hear agency experts preview the mission. SPHEREx is targeted to launch no earlier than Feb. 27, 2025.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems
SPHEREx（宇宙历史、再电离纪元光谱—光度计和冰层探测器）的简称，它将创建一张前所未有的宇宙地图。SPHEREx使用一种称为光谱学的技术，以102种红外光波长对整个天空进行成像，并收集关于数百万个星系和恒星的成分及其距离的信息。通过这张地图，科学家将研究大爆炸后最初的瞬间发生了什么、星系是如何形成和演化的，以及银河系中行星系统的水的起源。
影像来源: NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems
在这张2024年4月拍摄于科罗拉多州博尔德市BAE系统公司的照片中，NASA的SPHEREx（宇宙历史、再电离纪元光谱—光度计和冰层探测器）天文台水平放置。这个角度展示了天文台的三层光子屏蔽层——即金属同心锥体。
在为期两年的计划任务中，SPHEREx天文台将收集超过4.5亿个星系以及超过1亿颗银河系恒星的数据，以探索宇宙的起源。
请于2025年1月31日美国东部时间12:00 PM收听NASA专家对该任务的预览介绍。SPHEREx预计最早将于2025年2月27日发射。
图片来源: NASA/JPL-Caltech/BAE Systems
