Instruments: Telescopes
Finding life on other planets is one of the goals of my current research. My projects have contributed to the
development of several ground-based telescopes dedicated to studies of exoplanets and ultimately finding extraterrestrial life:
@PLANETS Foundation
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PLANETS
Polarized Light from Atmospheres of Nearby Extra-Terrestrial Systems:
a cooperation between University of Hawaii (USA), Tohoku University (Japan), Leibniz-Institut fuer Sonnenphysik (KIS, Germany), State University of Ponta Grossa (Brasil);
a 1.8m off-axis telescope is planned for the Haleakala Observatory (Maui, permit granted);
to be equipped with the DIPOL2/UF polarimeters, optical and heterodyne spectrographs;
dedicated webpages: PLANETS;
science: exoplanet and solar system studies using polarimetry and optical-IR spectroscopy
to characterize their atmosphere and composition.
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@PLANETS Foundation
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ELF
Exo-Life Finder:
a hybrid interferometric telescope of 20m to 50m in diameter, consisting of an array of
optical-IR off-axis telescopes, allowing for difraction-limited imaging of a large-aperture
telescope and nulling interferometry. It is optimized for imaging of Earth-like
exoplanets with a high contrast.
dedicated webpages: ELF;
science: to search for and characterize exoplanets with life.
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@PLANETS Foundation
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Colossus
The Colossus Telescope: a 70m to 100m class
optical-IR interferometric telescope
optimized for studies of exoplanets and finding life in the universe;
dedicated webpages: Colossus;
science: to search for and characterize exoplanets with life.
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