It has been so far assumed that coronagraphic imaging/spectroscopic measurement and mass determination require two separate missions, therefore requiring prioritization between the two paths and most likely leading to several years of time interval between the two measurements. While either technique is suitable to identify new planets, both are required for unambiguous characterization of potentially habitable worlds. The precise measurement of the host star position on the sky using astrometry will yield the planet mass.Direct imaging of exoplanets with future space telescopes will reveal their atmospheric composition and possibly identify signs of biological activity. Two approaches - direct planet imaging and host star astrometry - have the potential for revolutionary discoveries: Please read the Outstanding issues, future work paragraph at the end of this page for more information.ĭetection and characterization of potentially habitable Earth-mass exoplanets is one of the leading astronomical challenges of our age. Since many key issues and technical choices remain to be explored the performance estimates given in this document are only indicative. We are looking for help / comments on this, so if you want to participate, please email me (and please let me know if your email can be included in this webpage in the discussion section). Ongoing work - this webpage is likely to be updated frequently in the near future. Jay Daniel (元/Tinsley) Optics manufacturing Ruslan Belikov (NASA Ames) Compatibility with coronagraphyĭaniel Eisenstein (UofA) Extragalactic science enabled with wide field cameraĪnn Zabludoff (UofA) Extragalactic science with wide field cameraĭennis Zaritsky (UofA) Extragalactic & galactic science with wide field camera Marie Levine (NASA JPL) System engineering, mission architecture Josh Eisner (UofA) Exoplanet and star formation/evolution science Roger Angel (UofA) Exoplanet science, concept definition Neville Woolf (UofA) Exoplanet science, concept definition Jim Burge (UofA) Mask manufacturing, scaling of mask manufacturing to full scale PM Tom Milster (UofA) Mask manufacturing, scaling of mask manufacturing to full scale PM Mark Ammons (UofA) Lab demo design & operationĮduardo Bendek (UofA) Lab demo optical design & operation Robert Woodruff (LMC) Optical design for wide field telescope compatible with coronagraphyīijan Nemati (NASA JPL) Numerical simulations, modeling approach Stuart Shaklan (NASA JPL) Error budget, mission architecture Michael Shao (NASA JPL) Improvements to original concept, error budget, exoplanet science One of the main challenge is that the planet's pull on the star (astrometric signal) is very small and the position of the star on the sky therefore needs to be measured to very high precision. This webpage describes how both techniques could be realized on a a single space telescope. Most coronagraphs are intended to view the corona of the Sun, but a new class of conceptually similar instruments (called stellar coronagraphs to distinguish them from solar coronagraphs) are being used to find extrasolar planets around nearby stars." (Source: Wikipedia)īoth techniques are very useful to astronomy to identify and study exoplanets (planets around other stars): with a coronagraph, we can directly image planets and study them through spectroscopy (color information) with astrometry, we can measure the planet's gravitational pull on the star and therefore measure the planet's mass. "A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects - which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare - can be resolved. The information obtained by astrometric measurements provides information on the kinematics and physical origin of our Solar System and our Galaxy, the Milky Way." (Source: Wikipedia) " Astrometry is the branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. A Concept for high precision Astrometry with a Space Coronagraph What is this about ?
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