Ambition to take pictures directly on the copy of Earth

A team of astronomers plans to launch a satellite in 2019 to capture Proxima b directly, "Earth's copy" revolves around the star closest to the solar system.

Project Blue Project was announced earlier this week by the nonprofit organization BoldlyGo Institute to record images of the Alpha Centauri star system at 4.37 light-years away in 2022, according to IFL Science. The project is inspired by the famous Pale Blue Dot photograph of Earth made by Voyager 1 in 1990 at a distance of 6 billion km.

Figure simulating Alpha Centauri star system.(Photo: ESA).

At a cost of $ 50 million, the project uses a specially designed satellite to observe the Alpha Centauri star system for two years in hopes of capturing Proxima planet b . This is not the first direct image of a planet outside the solar system, but with close proximity, the photo will certainly reveal many interesting features on the planet such as the existence of water or atmosphere. book.

To take pictures, satellites will use coronagraph to prevent light from the parent star. "The Project Blue project will test shield and wave technology similar to the technology used for larger space telescopes in the future that NASA is working on , " The project team said.

Project Blue's telescope will attempt to record an image of Alpha Centauri system, including planet Proxima b."Proxima b is located in an area where life can exist but revolves around a parent star about 9 times closer than Mercury and the Sun. The short distance between Proxima b and the parent star can be solved by Small space telescope, but requires large and expensive equipment to take pictures directly, " said Jon Morse, president of BoldlyGo Institute.