How Lobster Eyes Can Help Astronomers Get a Wider View of the Cosmos

The crustacean-inspired technology can help us analyze far-off phenomena, like supernovae collisions and solar wind, that extend past our own galaxy.

By Claire Bugos
Jun 23, 2021 2:02 PM
shutterstock 1774133360
(Credit: Miguel Guasch Fuxa/Shutterstock)

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For more than half a century, scientists have sought to understand cosmic X-rays and what they reveal about our galaxy and the universe beyond it. As it turns out, lobsters can help astronomers do just that. 

These crustaceans have specialized eyes that can sense motion in low-light environments. By mimicking their unique structure, scientists can build visual equipment, or optics, for missions outside of Earth’s orbit aiming to capture stray X-rays. In the future, this technique could broaden astronomer's view of the sky to detect astronomical events both near and far.  

Making Sense of X-rays  

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