The upcoming release of Gaia DR4 will yield thousands of giant planet candidates, eventually enabling studies of giant planet eccentricities, masses, and occurrence rates across a broad range of stellar […]
adaptive optics
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Science Fiction
Rare Image Of Tatooine-like Planet Is Closest To Its Twin Stars Yet
In a discovery that’s fit for a movie, Northwestern University astronomers have directly imaged a Tatooine-like exoplanet, orbiting two suns.
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: New AI Technique Generates Clear Images Of Thick Biological Samples Without The Fancy Hardware
Depth degradation is a problem biologists know all too well: The deeper you look into a sample, the fuzzier the image becomes. A worm embryo or a piece of tissue […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
A Candidate High-Velocity Exoplanet System In The Galactic Bulge
We present an analysis of adaptive optics (AO) images from the Keck-I telescope of the microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-262. The original discovery paper by Bennett et al. 2014 reports two distinct […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
MODEL&CO: Exoplanet Detection In Angular Differential Imaging By Learning Across Multiple Observations
Direct imaging of exoplanets is particularly challenging due to the high contrast between the planet and the star luminosities, and their small angular separation. In addition to tailored instrumental facilities […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Estimating Atmospheric Wind Speeds From Gemini Planet Imager Adaptive Optic Telemetry
The Earth’s atmosphere is comprised of turbulent layers that result in speckled and blurry images from ground-based visible and infrared observations. Adaptive Optics (AO) systems are employed to measure the […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Status Report
RISTRETTO: A VLT XAO Design To Reach Proxima Cen b In The Visible
RISTRETTO is the evolution of the original idea of coupling the VLT instruments SPHERE and ESPRESSO lovis_2016a, aiming at High Dispersion Coronagraphy. RISTRETTO is a visitor instrument that should enable […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Exoplanets In Reflected Starlight With Dual-field Interferometry: A Case For Shorter Wavelengths And A Fifth Unit Telescope At VLTI/Paranal
The direct observation of cold and temperate planets within 1 to 10 AU would be extremely valuable for uncovering their atmospheric compositions but remains a formidable challenge with current astronomical […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
U.S. Adaptive Optics Roadmap to Achieve Astro2020
In the recent Astro2020 Decadal Report, ”Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s” Adaptive Optics (AO) was identified as a crucial technology for a variety of reasons. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
β Pictoris b Through The Eyes Of The Upgraded CRIRES+
Context: High-resolution spectrographs fed by adaptive optics (AO) provide a unique opportunity to characterize directly imaged exoplanets. Observations with such instruments allow us to probe the atmospheric composition, spin rotation, […]