Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

New optical device to help find Earth-like planets

Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Oct, 2014 11:11 AM
    Two astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are developing a new laser-based technology that may be used to find Earth-like exoplanets orbiting distant stars in the near future.
     
    To begin with, they plan to use a powerful new optical device, installed on the Italian National Telescope, that will measure Venus' precise gravitational pull on the Sun. If they succeed, their first-of-its-kind demonstration of this new technology will be used.
     
    "We are building a telescope that will let us see the Sun the way we would see other stars," said David Phillips, staff scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
     
    Astronomers have identified more than 1,700 exoplanets, some as far as hundreds of light years away. Most were discovered by the traditional transit method, which measures the decrease in brightness when a planet orbiting a distant star transits that luminous body, moving directly between the Earth and the star. This provides information about the planet's size, but not its mass.
     
    Phillips and colleague Chih-Hao Li are developing the technology called the "green astro-comb" for use with the radial velocity method that offers information about the mass of distant planets.
     
    The radial velocity method works by measuring how exoplanet gravity changes the light emitted from its star.
     
    From this information, astronomers will be able to determine whether distant exoplanets they discover are rocky worlds like the Earth or less dense gas giants like Jupiter.
     
    The method is precise enough to help astronomers identify Earth-like planets in the "habitable zone" or the "sweet-spot" where water exists as liquid.
     
    "Building the 'green astro-comb' was a challenge since we needed to convert red laser light to green frequencies. We did it by making small fibres that convert one colour of light to another," Phillips added.
     
    The researchers plan to test the "green astro-comb" by pointing it at the Sun, analysing its spectrum to see if they can find Venus and re-discover its characteristic period of revolution, its size, its mass and its composition.
     
    The Harvard-Smithsonian team is installing this device on the High-Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher-North (HARPS-N), a new spectrograph designed to search for exoplanets using the Italian National Telescope.
     
    The duo is scheduled to describe the device in a paper at the Optical Society's (OSA) 98th annual meeting in Tucson, Arizona, Oct 19-23.

    MORE Tech ARTICLES

    Must for men! Gift app can win you her love

    Must for men! Gift app can win you her love
    Confused what to gift your wife or girlfriend on their birthday? Download this unique app to eliminate the guesswork when buying a gift to bring a smile on their faces - and peace in your life!

    Must for men! Gift app can win you her love

    Get that grocery home by app? Amazon!

    Get that grocery home by app? Amazon!
    Tired of juggling to park your car as you approach the supermarket to finish weekend shopping for kitchen? Better download this app that would work as a virtual servant for you.

    Get that grocery home by app? Amazon!

    Watch live telecast from moon in 2015

    Watch live telecast from moon in 2015
    You may soon be able to watch live telecast from the moon, and closely see how it looks like from the surface that has fascinated young and old alike since ages.

    Watch live telecast from moon in 2015

    Happy birthday! Gmail turns 10

    Happy birthday! Gmail turns 10
    Your favourite webmail service Gmail has turned 10. Launched April 1, 2004, Google’s simple, user-friendly inbox today is an undisputed leader in email and related services.

    Happy birthday! Gmail turns 10

    Are you happily disgusted or sadly angry? Find out

    Are you happily disgusted or sadly angry? Find out
    What if your computer can distinguish even expressions for complex or seemingly contradictory emotions such as 'happily disgusted' or 'sadly angry'?

    Are you happily disgusted or sadly angry? Find out

    Why scholars don't trust social media?

    Why scholars don't trust social media?
    At a time when people from all walks of life are using various social media platforms to send their message across, the trend is just the opposite in case of university scholars.

    Why scholars don't trust social media?