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Spektr-RG’s energy range by far surpasses Hubble telescope

Spektr-RG is a joint Russian-German project

MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/. The space observatory Spektr-RG is capable of observing radiation in a far wider energy range than the United States’ telescope Hubble, the chief of the Spektr-RG project, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Rashid Syunyayev told a news conference on Tuesday.

"It’s an entirely different range. We’ve gone ahead a thousand times," Syunyayev said.

He remarked that Hubble was a great instrument operating in the optical, infrared and ultraviolet ranges.

Spektr-RG is a joint Russian-German project. The laboratory’s aim is to scan the sky in a wide energy range with high sensitivity and angular resolution. It carries two X-ray telescopes: Russia’s ART-XC and Germany’s eROSITA. Originally the laboratory was to be launched in 1987. Eventually a Proton-M rocket with the Spektr-RG on board blasted off in July 2019. On Monday, the Spektr-RG moved to the Lagrangian point L2.