A clear view of alien planets

Australian scientists have developed an optical chip for telescopes, allowing astronomers for the first time to take clear images of planets that may support life.

Dr Steve Madden, from The Australian National University (ANU), explained that he and his fellow scientists are looking to find an Earth-like planet that may be able to support life. “To do this, we need to understand how and where planets form inside dust clouds, and then use this experience to search for planets with an atmosphere containing ozone, which is a strong indicator of life,” he said.

The problem is that seeing a planet outside the solar system which is close to its host sun, similar to Earth, is very difficult with today’s standard astronomical instruments due to the brightness of the sun. Now, Dr Madden and colleagues at the ANU Laser Physics Centre have built an optical chip for telescopes that works in a similar way to noise-cancelling headphones.

“This chip is an interferometer that adds equal but opposite light waves from a host sun which cancels out the light from the sun, allowing the much weaker planet light to be seen,” he said.

ANU PhD student Harry-Dean Kenchington Goldsmith elaborated, saying the technology works like thermal imaging that firefighters rely on to see through smoke.

“The chip uses the heat emitted from the planet to peer through dust clouds and see planets forming,” he said. “Ultimately the same technology will allow us to detect ozone on alien planets that could support life.”

The innovation builds on over 10 years of research into specialised optical materials and devices. It was presented this week at the 22nd Australian Institute of Physics Congress in Brisbane.

Image courtesy of Ryan Wick under CC BY 2.0