concept study report
After a nearly four year journey, the Lynx Team is proud to present our Concept Study Report.
A 100 MB .pdf file, optimized for screen viewing.
A 95 Mb .zip file with separated Report sections.
These are best printed from Adobe Acrobat.
A new great observatory
Lynx is a revolutionary X-ray observatory that will transform our understanding of the Cosmos. It is one of the four NASA Strategic Mission concepts under consideration by the 2020 Decadal Survey.
The end of one journey is the beginning of another. As the Lynx Concept Study Phase comes to a close, we’ll use this space to share exciting news and stories about Lynx and the transformational science it will enable.
Featured
a discovery engine
for the age to come
A hundred-fold increase in sensitivity. Sixteen times the field of view. Eight hundred times the survey speed. Ten-to-twenty times the spectral resolution. Lynx isn't incremental – it's transformational.
Lynx will fly a proven spacecraft design, built on Chandra's legacy, with a revolutionary instrumentation payload. It will be among the most powerful Space Telescopes ever launched.
the invisible cosmos revealed
The observatory is designed to pursue three science questions that span the vast reaches of the Universe. Explore them now.
lynx science pillars
An observatory designed to address these science pillars will make a difference in all areas of astronomical research, from Solar system objects to the Epoch of Reionization. Moreover, the scientific landscape of the 2030s will look very different from what it is today. Lynx is designed to look past these far horizons, and open unseen discovery space.
a plan for the unknown
Lynx will look deep into the past, and collect light from the first black holes in the Universe. Those black holes today live in the heart of every galaxy. How did they come to be?
Lynx will observe the missing and most critical component in our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. It will witness ongoing energetic feedback from supernovae and black holes, and its effect on gas in the halos of galaxies.
There are beginnings at the end. Lynx will witness violent cosmic events and the origin of elements. It will collect the unseen light of stellar birth and death, internal stellar structure, and star-planet interactions.
The lynx Team
Lynx is the collective vision of a large and growing community that spans the Earth. Meet us here.
An observatory for all
From the ignition of black holes at the edge of time to the shining poles of Jupiter, Lynx will be a mission for all.
Its power will combine with that of a future generation of telescopes to expose how the Universe really works.
We will launch in the mid 2030s, but our journey is underway. Join us.
