Image caption. Credit: VZLU Aerospace.

The goal of the QUVIK (Quick Ultra-Violet Kilonovae Surveyor) satellite project is to develop the first Czech space telescope, which will observe collisions between neutron stars or between neutron stars and black holes. Among other things, these observations may reveal a great deal about the formation of elements heavier than iron, which are created during these collisions. These include, for example, gold and platinum.

The telescope will also enable the observation of exoplanets—planets that orbit stars other than the Sun. Combined with observations from other observatories, scientists will be able to determine how these planets lose their atmospheres. It will also be possible to observe very hot stars, supernovae, star clusters, and radiation from the centers of galaxies, where a supermassive black hole tears apart a star at the galaxy’s core. More information is available here.