For hundreds of years, the principle behind the telescope has been as simple as it gets: build a lens or mirror to collect a large amount of light, focus that light onto a detector (like an eye, a ...

Researchers have designed a new kind of telescope that is a cheaper, lighter and more powerful option than creating telescopes using ever-larger mirrors. With a fleet of the new space telescopes, they ...

A new way of bending X-rays raises the prospect of smaller, more powerful X-ray space telescopes. Based on technology originally developed for medical imaging machines, Stacked Prism Lens are being ...

X‐ray optics and telescope mirror technology form the backbone of high-energy astrophysical research, enabling the capture and precise imaging of celestial X‐ray sources. Advances in the fabrication ...

Our proposed telescope, the Nautilus Space Observatory, would replace large, heavy mirrors with a novel, thin lens that is much lighter, cheaper and easier to produce than mirrored telescopes. Because ...

When you look at the night sky, do you ever wonder what's going on out there? On a clear night with a dark sky, if moonlight doesn't wash it out, sometimes you can see the arc of the Milky Way. The ...

Astronomers have discovered more than 5,000 planets outside of the solar system to date. The grand question is whether any of these planets are home to life. To find the answer, astronomers will ...

For centuries, lenses have worked the same way: curved glass or plastic bending light to bring images into focus. But traditional lenses have a major drawback—the more powerful they need to be, the ...

Victor Rogus contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. One of my greatest joys in amateur astronomy has been in building my own equipment. The great Clyde Tombaugh ...

An illustration showing the final stage of a possible future giant telescope being created in space using fluids. Studio Ella Maru SHARE NASA is always searching for new ways to extend its ability to ...