Mission of Planet Hunters Eddington

2002/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astronomia

European planet hunters are immersed in the attempt to get the first spacecraft capable of contemplating Earth-sized planets. This mission, called Eddington, has been accepted by the ESA (European Space Agency) and is pending grants.

The spacecraft, in an orbit between Earth and the Sun, would remain for 4 years receiving luminous images of the 500,000 stars in the area, with the intention of ever seeing the shadow of a planet that had passed by its side. By measuring the orbiting speed of these planets you can know how far they are located from their stars and calculate whether or not they can have life.