Photo by Guy Plante/Laval University

Pretty soon, to see back to the early days of the universe, we'd only need to look up at the moon. Astrophysicists at Laval University in Quebec have proposed a new way to create the large mirrors needed for powerful telescopes: make them out of liquid, and, uh, put them on the moon. A substance called ionic liquid, which doesn't evaporate, can stay in liquid form even at the ultralow temperatures on the moon's surface. Coating the fluid with a silver lining makes it highly reflective, effectively turning it into a large, smooth mirror.

Building large mirrors has been an engineering challenge for telescopes, and for one to see the universe's primordial era, the focusing mirror would have to be as large as a football field. With no atmosphere or light pollution (and room to spare), the moon is the ideal place for such a massive 'scope, but transporting a mirror that big into space would be practically impossible. If it's in liquid form, though, the mirror could be carried in a jug.

The drippy mirror isn't quite ready for prime time, though: The reflectivity is a little low for what a massive telescope would need, and the current fluid the Laval guys are working with freezes at lunar temps. Just as well NASA's moonbase won't be happening for a while. — Peter Pachal

Via Scientific American