Smoothed light allows direct exoplanet imaging
Physicists of MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed optical technology for the "correction" of light coming from distant stars, which will significantly improve telescopes and enable direct observation of exoplanets.
Laser Focus World's take:
Exoplanet imaging, whether space-based or terrestrial-telescope-based, involves a high level of "filtering" optics and techniques to remove background noise and detect "eclipse" or "wobble" events in the vicinity of a star. New methods are assisting this search for Earth-like planets, including this new smoothed light approach as well as some conventional methods including MEMS-based deformable mirrors and optical frequency combs.
Exoplanet imaging, whether space-based or terrestrial-telescope-based, involves a high level of "filtering" optics and techniques to remove background noise and detect "eclipse" or "wobble" events in the vicinity of a star. New methods are assisting this search for Earth-like planets, including this new smoothed light approach as well as some conventional methods including MEMS-based deformable mirrors and optical frequency combs.