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Ultra-Sensitive Camera To Measure Exoplanet Sizes

Posted by timothy on from the ignoring-global-poverty dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "US astronomers and engineers have built a new camera to precisely measure the size of planets moving around distant stars. This camera has been dubbed OPTIC — short for 'Orthogonal Parallel Transfer Imaging Camera.' According to the research team, it is 'so sensitive that it could detect the passage of a moth in front of a lit window from a distance of 1,000 miles.' I'm not sure if this analogy is right, but the team said it was able to precisely define the size of a planet called WASP-10b which is orbiting around the star WASP-10, about 300 light-years from Earth."

2 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Split infinitives are perfectly legal by the_other_chewey · · Score: 5, Informative

    Re those "splitinfinitive" taggers: Split infinitives are perfectly legal in English.
    Yes, in American English as well.

    And if they are used to change the emphasis in a phrase, they often are very useful too. They can even allow for improved clarity.
    So just stop to stupidly impose latin grammar rules and conventions on another language.

    By the way: Ending sentences with prepositions is generally OK as well.

    1. Re:Split infinitives are perfectly legal by owlnation · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Thank you!

      And dear Grammar Nazis, take note that the object of language is communication. Shakespeare (perchance, fairly highly regarded for his vocabulary and poetry) made up new words and rules all the time. It's fun being creative with words.

      If the grammar, spelling or sentence structure makes a passage unintelligible, then it's sometimes fine to point that out. Otherwise... shut the fuck up. Go bully people on Wikipedia like you normally do -- there you'll be very welcome.