In a discovery that’s fit for a movie, Northwestern University astronomers have directly imaged a Tatooine-like exoplanet, orbiting two suns.
coronagraph
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Proxima Centauri
Conclusive Tests For The RISTRETTO Proxima b Exoplanet Explorer
The RISTRETTO project, dedicated to observing Proxima b –the closest exoplanet to the Solar System — is reaching a new milestone: several key components of this high-precision spectrograph have been […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Multi-bandpass Photometry for Exoplanet Atmosphere Reconnaissance (MPEAR) with the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) — I. Differentiating Earth from Neptunes During Discovery
As the architecture for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is being developed, it is crucial to optimize the observing strategies for a survey to detect and characterize Earth-like planets around […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Newly Discovered Star Opens A Laboratory For Solving A Cosmic Dust Mystery
Seventy light-years from Earth, a star called Kappa Tucanae A harbors one of astronomy’s most perplexing mysteries: dust so hot it glows at more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, existing impossibly […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
CoronaGraph Instrument Reference stars for Exoplanets (CorGI-REx) I. Preliminary Vetting and Implications for the Roman Coronagraph and Habitable Worlds Observatory
The upcoming Roman Coronagraph will be the first high-contrast instrument in space capable of high-order wavefront sensing and control technologies, a critical technology demonstration for the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Habitable World Discovery and Characterization: Coronagraph Concept of Operations and Data Post-Processing
The discovery and characterization of habitable worlds was the top scientific recommendation of the Astro2020 decadal survey and is a key objective of the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Epsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Direct Imaging For The Debris Disk Around epsilon Eridani With The Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph
We analyze the inner debris disk around ϵ Eridani using simulated observations with the Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph (CPI-C).
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
KID Detector Readout Electronics Development for Habitable Worlds Observatory
We present the status and goals of the readout electronics system we are developing to support the detector arrays in the coronagraph instrument on the NASA Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Detecting Alien Living Worlds And Photosynthetic Life Using Imaging Polarimetry With The HWO Coronagraph
Our Earth, being the only living planet that we know, provides us with clues that photosynthetic life-forms may be dominant on other exoplanets for billions of years.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
A Saturn-Mass Planet Imaged by Webb Is The Lightest Ever Seen
The James Web Space Telescope’s MIRI instrument, managed by NASA JPL through launch, detected a compact object in the disk of debris surrounding a nearby star.