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Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life

Precision mirrors could show stargazers planets far, far away

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 13, 2008 2:03 PM CDT

(Newser) – Telescope technology currently in the works will use light measurements to search for planets beyond our solar system whose orbit around a star means they could support life, Wired reports. The system, called nulling interferometry, uses tiny mirrors that move at atomic levels to combine the power of several telescopes, creating a device that could see a quarter on the moon.

Nulling interferometry would detect the planets by observing miniscule “wobbles” in stars’ light spectrums, which indicate the gravitational pull of a nearby planet. “The goal is nothing less than finding the first ever Earth-like planet orbiting around a star,” says an astronomer. The search could begin in 6 months, via telescopes in Chile, on which the system is currently being installed.

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"Wobbles" in light spectrums can show the pull of a nearby planet. (Shutterstock)

Nulling interferometry will reveal distant planets orbiting stars as Earth orbits the sun. (Shutterstock)

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The real holy grail of planet-hunting is to find other earths and ascertain whether they are habitable. - Geoff Marcy, planet hunter

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Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life