Distant Planet Imaging Project Gets More Funding

It doesn't come easy writes "NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts has chosen a proposal by the University of Colorado (UC) at Boulder to image distant planets around other stars for a second round of funding. Known as the New Worlds Observer, the UC project is for an orbiting, soccer-field sized "starshade" shaped like a daisy that would funnel light from distant planets between its petals to a second spacecraft trailing 50,000 miles behind. If the concept proves feasible, it could 'identify planetary features like oceans, continents, polar caps and cloud banks, and even detect biomarkers like methane, water, oxygen and ozone [...]'"

Comments

How will the religious establishment react?

[CyricZ]

How will the religious establishment react to such discoveries? Suppose a distant planet with many of the features of earth (oceans, deserts, mountains, etc.) is found. But let's not go so far as to say that plant life (or something like it) is found.

How would the religious establishment react? Such discoveries would, in effect, refute many of the religious claims.

We have already seen pseudo Christians going to extreme lengths to ban the teaching of evolution in places like Kansas and Tennessee. Would they take a similar route were discoveries that didn't mesh to well with their teachings to be found?

Re:How will the religious establishment react?

[CyricZ]

Any true American should care. After all, it is their children and grandchildren who many not receive a full education due to the religious beliefs of a small group of extremists. And in the world economy of today and most likely tomorrow, they will need to have such knowledge to just get by, let alone succeed.

Powerful religious groups can often have a profound impact upon the development and progress of a nation.

Re:How will the religious establishment react?

[Bogtha]

How would the religious establishment react? Such discoveries would, in effect, refute many of the religious claims.

Exactly how they've reacted for every other scientific discovery made in the past that contradicts religion - half of them will deny it, and half of them will quietly tell themselves that part of their religion is metaphorical (and always has been).

We have already seen pseudo Christians going to extreme lengths to ban the teaching of evolution

That's a perfect example. Half of them are denying it, and half of them are saying that Genesis is metaphorical (and always has been).

Re:Steerable?

[Zathrus]

However, there's one little problem --- how the hell do you turn it?

This is listed as a "problem" by the folks developing it.

Actually, however, there's a much bigger problem. Presuming that you have the sensor facing away from the sun (if you don't, then you face even bigger issues), then the 50k km spacing leads to the two objects being in separate orbits. The sensor will travel around the sun at a slightly faster rate than the shield, which means you have to adjust orbits on a pretty frequent basis. This becomes less and less of a problem the further away from the sun you are (and being further away has its own advantages too), but it's still an issue no matter what.

Keeping the entire thing in alignment is a huge problem -- even if you ignore needing to turn it (which you certainly will; it may be a pinhole camera, but the longer the exposure time the better the picture -- if you can pivot the entire thing continuously that is).