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Distant Planet Imaging Project Gets More Funding

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the dreaming-of-zoom-lenses dept.

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 [...]'"

5 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. I just hope... by dptalia · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...we can see them building the invasion fleet in time.

    --
    Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, which is why engineers sometimes smell really bad.
  2. And in other news by Daysaway · · Score: 5, Funny

    Google plans to unveil their new software aptly named 'Google Solar System', which sews the surface maps of the planets together for an interactive flythrough.

    --
    Colonel Cranium this is Rectal Reconnaissance, we are on a collision course sir, Abort Abort!
  3. Re:How will the religious establishment react? by CyricZ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    --
    Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
  4. Steerable? by david.given · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This thing appears to be a giant pinhole camera; there's a pinhole, which can be considered the lens assembly, which focuses light onto the sensor, 50'000km behind.

    Very cool. However, there's one little problem --- how the hell do you turn it? If the sensor's got to be 50'000km away from the lens, then to turn it 90 degrees (why does Slashdot block Unicode?) you're going to have to move the sensor some 70'000km, which means a lot of hydrazine.

    Or do they have something more cunning up their sleeves?

  5. Re:How will the religious establishment react? by Bogtha · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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).

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha