![]() Potentially habitable exoplanets must be cool. There’s another, more basic reason why optical telescopes are important in the study of exoplanets. “JWST is made to do infrared science-the study of long wavelengths of light that you can’t do from the Earth well-but there’s so much important science that requires optical visible light wavelength.” Visible light spectra of the atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b-and other potentially habitable exoplanets-will allow scientists to be more confident that the chemistry of an exoplanet atmosphere could be produced by biological or geological sources. “We’ll be able to directly image it with Giant Magellan Telescope and also take spectra of that planet to look for biosignatures in its atmosphere,” said Bernstein. Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation Examining exoplanetsĪ good example of how it will work with JWST is with observations of Proxima Centauri b, the closest known exoplanet to Earth at just four light-years. “It’s got two instruments perfectly positioned to do direct imaging of planets like our own Earth to find potentially habitable planets.”Ī rendering of what the Giant Magellan Telescope will look like. “This telescope will compound the science being done with both JWST and the Vera Rubin Observatory,” said Rebecca Bernstein, Chief Scientist for the Giant Magellan Telescope. ![]() The Giant Magellan Telescope won’t see “first light” until the early 2030s, but it-and its flagship “Large Earth Finder” and “Near-Infrared Spectrograph” in particular-should be worth waiting for. From 2025 its 3.2-gigapixel CCD imaging camera-the largest digital camera ever constructed-will survey the entire visible sky in just three nights, effectively producing a motion picture of the universe. Here, the Vera Rubin Observatory is being constructed. Together these extremely large telescopes will help extend a golden age of space and ground-based observing.Įveryone knows about JWST and its ability to see the universe in infrared in high resolution for the first time, but equally important is what’s being built just 150 miles south of Las Campanos Observatory at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |