K-DRIFT Telescope Achieves First Light in Chile, Targets Ultra-Faint Cosmic Signals
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
South Korea’s first-generation K-DRIFT telescope has captured its first images at El Sauce Observatory in Chile. The 0.5 m optical telescope, developed with domestic technology, offers a very wide field of view—about twice that of the Rubin Observatory—able to image an area equal to 100 full moons at once. Combined with specialized ultra-low surface brightness (초극미광) techniques, K-DRIFT delivers roughly 20 times higher survey efficiency than Rubin for detecting extremely faint celestial structures. Its unique off-axis, unobstructed optical design reduces light loss and distortion and keeps a uniform background sky level in images. After finishing test observations, the team will begin a southern-hemisphere ultra-low surface brightness survey this year, and plans to use these results to develop a prototype Korean wide-field space telescope and expand into deep-space all-sky imaging research. (K-DRIFT: Korean Drift telescope)
