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Researchers say this development could help find planets like ours orbiting stars similar to the Sun.
Friday 29 March 2024 00:24 UK
A new planet similar to Earth may soon be discovered after scientists make technological advances.
Physicists have developed an astronomical comb that can analyze the blue-green light emitted by stars.
Astrocom can detect small changes in starlight produced by the orbits of exoplanets, potentially revealing Earth-like planets.
Although they were primarily limited to the green to red part of the light spectrum, the new system offers the opportunity to uncover even more cosmic secrets.
This groundbreaking discovery was made by physicists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and the University of Cambridge.
“This is a really exciting development, studying small planets in longer orbits than ever before, with the aim of discovering the first ‘Earth-like’ planets orbiting nearby sun-like stars.” “We’re going to be able to do that,” said Dr. Samantha Thompson. Cambridge.
Heriot-Watt professor Derrick Reid said the short wavelengths of light that the new system can examine are “rich in atomic absorption features that are of interest to astronomers.”
“Our new approach provides for the first time a range of optical markers from ultraviolet to blue-green that act as a precise wavelength scale in this part of the spectrum,” Professor Reid added.
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The technology is being developed for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which is being built in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
It will have a 39 meter primary mirror, making it the world’s largest visible and infrared telescope.
The British team will also work on telescope astrocoms in South Africa and the Canary Islands.
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