What will NASA’s starshade help astronomers to achieve?
We take a look at why astronomers are keen for the launch of the starshade
The starshade should help to find planets that are otherwise too small to see next to their bright parent star
Asked by Tom Corfield
The starshade would launch into space alongside a space telescope and would help astronomers get a clearer view of planets orbiting around other stars. In space the starshade would be positioned in front of the telescope to help block out the majority of light from a faraway star.
The search for Earth-like planets outside of our Solar System has been going on for many years. We have managed to spot thousands of exoplanets around other stars but we have yet to find a perfectly Earth-like twin.
Part of the problem may be that Earth- like planets are just very difficult to spot, as they are small and close to their parent star. If there are Earth-like planets out there, this new starshade concept may make them easier to find.
Answered by Zoe Baily from the National Space Centre
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