{"id":473660,"date":"2026-03-13T15:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/473660\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:48:14","slug":"worlds-largest-1140-lens-telescope-to-probe-the-cosmic-web","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/473660\/","title":{"rendered":"World&#8217;s largest 1,140-lens telescope to probe the cosmic web"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Construction has begun on a new telescope designed to map one of the universe\u2019s most elusive structures, the cosmic web.<\/p>\n<p>The instrument, called MOTHRA, aims to detect faint gas that stretches between galaxies and traces the distribution of dark matter.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers say the telescope will become the world\u2019s largest all-lens telescope once completed. Engineers are building the instrument at the El Sauce Observatory, with full operations expected by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The project comes from Dragonfly FRO, a research initiative launched in 2025 to develop specialized scientific instruments.<\/p>\n<p>The telescope received funding from Alex Gerko, founder and CEO of XTX Markets, with support from Convergent Research.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists say the instrument could open a new path for studying the universe\u2019s large-scale structure.<\/p>\n<p>Telescope built from lenses<\/p>\n<p>Unlike traditional observatories that rely on large mirrors, MOTHRA uses an array of 1,140 Canon telephoto lenses. The lenses work together as a distributed aperture system that combines images digitally.<\/p>\n<p>When fused together, the array functions like a single lens roughly 4.7 meters in diameter.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/2931022\/Dragonfly_FRO.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"637\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/patrial-built.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-255096\"   title=\"World\u2019s largest 1,140-lens telescope begins construction to map the cosmic web\"\/><\/a>The partially built MOTHRA telescope array observes beneath the Milky Way at El Sauce Observatory in Chile.<br \/>Credit \u2013 Dragonfly FRO, LLC<\/p>\n<p>The design builds on the earlier Dragonfly Telephoto Array concept.<\/p>\n<p>That system demonstrated that clusters of telephoto lenses can detect extremely faint cosmic structures that conventional <a href=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/lists\/a-brief-history-of-the-telescope-from-1608-to-gamma-rays\" id=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/lists\/a-brief-history-of-the-telescope-from-1608-to-gamma-rays\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\">telescopes<\/a> often miss.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers expanded that concept significantly for MOTHRA.<\/p>\n<p>The telescope also uses ultra-narrowband filters designed to isolate faint light from hydrogen gas drifting between galaxies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMOTHRA is a telescope designed around a single idea: maximize discovery space for the dim glow of intergalactic gas,\u201d said Pieter van Dokkum, Co-Founder of Dragonfly FRO.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers believe the system\u2019s wide field of view and sensitivity could allow astronomers to capture signals that were previously impossible to detect.<\/p>\n<p>Targeting the cosmic web<\/p>\n<p>The cosmic web represents the largest structure in the universe.<\/p>\n<p>It consists of long filaments of gas shaped by dark matter that link galaxies across vast distances.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists believe these structures began forming shortly after the Big Bang. <\/p>\n<p>Over billions of years, gravity pulled matter into a web-like pattern stretching across the universe.<\/p>\n<p>Galaxies gather along these filaments, but the gas between them remains extremely faint.<\/p>\n<p>MOTHRA aims to detect the dim glow of <a href=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/energy\/breakthrough-could-make-green-hydrogen-cheaper\" id=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/energy\/breakthrough-could-make-green-hydrogen-cheaper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\">hydrogen<\/a> trapped within this network.<\/p>\n<p>By observing that gas, astronomers hope to map the cosmic web directly and study how matter moves through its strands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an ambitious project to build something astronomers have wanted for a long time: a practical way to directly see the cosmic web,\u201d said Roberto Abraham, Co-Founder of Dragonfly FRO.<\/p>\n<p>The telescope also reflects a different approach to organizing large research efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Dragonfly operates as a Focused Research Organization, or FRO, a model designed to address major scientific bottlenecks over a defined timeline.<\/p>\n<p>These organizations function more like startups than traditional academic labs. They focus on building specialized tools or infrastructure that entire research fields can use.<\/p>\n<p>Dragonfly FRO represents the first effort to apply the model to astrophysics.<\/p>\n<p>Funding from Gerko helped accelerate the telescope\u2019s development and construction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBreakthrough instruments developed at speed often require new approaches \u2014 organizationally and technically,\u201d Gerko said.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers expect MOTHRA to begin scientific observations after construction finishes in 2026. <\/p>\n<p>If successful, the telescope could provide one of the clearest views yet of the faint structures that shape the universe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Construction has begun on a new telescope designed to map one of the universe\u2019s most elusive structures, the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[55093,169043,169044,59,169045,169046,90,169047,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-473660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-cosmic-web","9":"tag-dark-matter-structure","10":"tag-dragonfly-fro","11":"tag-gb","12":"tag-intergalactic-gas","13":"tag-mothra-telescope","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-telescope-engineering","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}