A "Smart Ruler" Could Help Swarms of Space Telescopes Image Exoplanets

A 'smart ruler' could help swarms of space telescopes image exoplanets

We've talked plenty of times here about the infeasibility of launching a mirror big enough to directly image exoplanets using current rocket fairings—at least as long as we're not sending them 500-plus AU away to a gravitational lensing point. We've also talked at length about the potential solution to that problem—interferometry, where multiple smaller satellites link up precisely but are spaced far enough apart to act as one gigantic mirror. T…

A "Smart Ruler" Could Help Swarms of Space Telescopes Image Exoplanets

We’ve talked plenty of times here about the infeasibility of launching a mirror big enough to directly image exoplanets using current rocket fairings - at least as long as we’re not sending them 500+ AU away to a gravitational lensing point. We’ve also talked at length about the potential solution to that problem - interferometry, where multiple smaller satellites link up precisely, but are spaced far enough apart to act as one gigantic mirror. …