Artist’s concept of the ELT. Credit Swinburne Astronomy Productions/ ESO/ Wikimedia
Is there alien life in our galaxy? The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), now being built in Chile, will help search for answers.
Set to begin operations in 2028, the ELT will scan the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets, looking for signs of life.
This process, which is usually slow and challenging, will be much faster with the ELT—it can detect potential biological signatures in just hours.
One of ELT’s most powerful abilities will be capturing faint light from exoplanet atmospheres. This usually happens when a planet moves in front of its star from our view.
Artist’s concept of Proxima Centauri b, an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star. It and Proxima Centauri c are the closest known exoplanets to Earth at 4.3 light-years. Credit ESO/ M. Kornmesser/ Wikimedia
Some starlight passes through the planet’s atmosphere, and by studying the light, scientists can identify molecules like water, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has already analyzed the atmospheres of several exoplanets this way.
source EarthSky
Leave A Comment