New Henrietta Spectrograph to Probe Alien Atmospheres

New Henrietta Spectrograph to Probe Alien Atmospheres

Finding life beyond our solar system goes beyond measuring an exoplanet’s size, as rocky, Earth-sized worlds might not have the conditions for life as we know it. While exoplanets can be directly imaged by blocking their star’s glare, these images are fuzzy and lack resolution to provide enough details about the habitability. Therefore, astronomers are limited to studying an exoplanet’s atmosphere, and this has proven to be quite beneficial in t…

Spectral Map Making With SPHEREx - Astrobiology

We present map-making methodologies and preliminary spectral data cubes for SPHEREx, a NASA Explorer mission that launched in March 2025 and has been performing an all-sky near-infrared spectral survey. The SPHEREx instrument observes from 0.75 to 5.0 microns with a spectral resolution ranging from 35 to 130 and a pixel size of 6.15″. We define […] The post Spectral Map Making With SPHEREx appeared first on Astrobiology.

Scientists Unveil Henrietta, A New Instrument Set To Decode Alien Worlds

A new generation instrument designed to probe the atmospheres of distant worlds is nearing operational readiness, marking a major step forward in exoplanet science. Detailed in a paper presented at the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference in Copenhagen titled “From assembly to first light: integration, testing, and commissioning of the Henrietta Exoatmosphere spectrograph”, the Henrietta spectrograph promises to deliver unpr…