science

NASA NEWS: WFIRST telescope could find THOUSANDS of planets and ALIEN LIFE


The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope – or WFIRST – is set to launch next year and experts are hopeful it will help unravel some of the biggest mysteries of the universe. WFIRST is an upgrade on the Kepler Telescope which went offline in October 2018 and will be able to search for more planets, and ultimately life. This is because Kepler monitored distant stars, and looked for shadows orbiting nearby to the host star which would signal a planet close to earth.

This meant most planets found by Kepler would be too close to their host star to support life.

However, WFIRST will use gravitational microlensing, which is a technique able to see light being bent by the gravitational pull of a planet, meaning it will be able to spot celestial bodies at a more suitable orbiting distance. This would allow it to support life.

Matthew Penny, lead author of a new study published in Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series and postdoctoral researcher in the Ohio State Department of Astronomy, said: “We want to know what kind of planetary systems there are.

“To do that, you need to not just look where the obvious, easy things are. You need to look at everything.”

“Kepler began the search by looking for planets that orbit their stars closer than the Earth is to our Sun.

“WFIRST will complete it by finding planets with larger orbits.”

NASA says on its website: “WFIRST will make observations that could contribute to the discovery of new worlds beyond our solar system and advance the search for extrasolar planets that could be suitable for life.”

The new telescope, launching on January 1, 2020, will scan an area of the universe which is about two square degrees.

Although this may seem small, it is more than any of its predecessors have managed.

Dr Penny added: “Although it’s a small fraction of the sky, it’s huge compared to what other space telescopes can do.

“It’s WFIRST’s unique combination — both a wide field of view and a high resolution — that make it so powerful for microlensing planet searches.

“Previous space telescopes, including Hubble and James Webb, have had to choose one or the other.

“WFIRST will allow us to find types of planets that we haven’t seen before now.

“From WFIRST’s microlensing survey, we will learn how frequently different types of planets are formed, and how unique our solar system is.”



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.