In our quest to understand if there is life elsewhere in the macrocosm , we start with the only example we have : life story on Earth . So , a good bet to find aliens is to find another Earth . Of the over 5,000 exoplanets know , we are yet to incur Earth ’s similitude . However , this might change very soon . Enter , the European Space Agency ’s ( ESA ) PLATO mission .
PLATOstands for PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars and it has a clear goal in judgement . It will look for nearby potentially habitable worlds like Earth around Sun - similar stars .
“ One of the major goals is to find an Earth - Sun equivalent if you like . So an Earth - sized planet in the inhabitable zone of a star like the Sun . And to detect it around a star that ’s lustrous enough that we can really measure the planet ’s wad , value its radius , so we can be certain that it ’s real,”Dr David Brown , from the University of Warwick , told IFLScience . “ That ’s our headline goal if you like . ”
The telescope is not just a planet - hunting observatory , it is also a stellar observatory , take in data on a immense act of stars , and the mission squad see the combination of the two as a all-important ground for how this telescope will be revolutionary .
We ’re really stress to translate wandering systems as whole entities rather than sort of satellite by planet .
" You have two half of the mission . One is exoplanets and one is the stars themselves . From a scientific point of horizon , I think that ’s quite exciting that we have these two halves working together to get the best possible science we can out of it , ” Dr Brown explain .
Among the secondary goals is the program to conduct a nosecount of telluric planet but also of star topology organization as a whole . Another object is to detect other solar system like our own . So far , our little quoin of the universe is quite unique but we do not know if it is truly exceptional or not .
“ We have a clump of other scientific objectives , ” Dr Brown told IFLScience . “ How well can we understand the way that global systems evolve and change over time , really ? We ’re really essay to realize planetary systems as whole entities rather than sort of satellite by planet . ”
Beyond the goal , there is another matter that makes PLATO unique : it is not a single telescope . It ’s actually made up of 26 different ones . Two are dissolute cameras , the remaining 24 are normal photographic camera arrange in mathematical group of six with a slim offset . This gives the scope a large field of sight , improved carrying into action , and a way to quickly throw out false positive .
“ One of the big problems with pass through exoplanets is figuring out which of the thing you see are real and which ace are not . Using multiple telescopes we built a way to get free of some of the mimic that we might otherwise see . Plus it also just look quite nerveless , ” Dr Brown excitedly explained . “ You ’ve got this expectant square with all of these scope pointing at you and it look really unequaled ! ”
Dr Brown pose an update about PLATO at theNational Astronomy Meetingat the University of Hull this week . The telescope is being assembled and has pass critical hitch recently . The missionary station is on track to set up in December 2026 . It will hook off from French Guiana on an Ariane 6 rocket , the same type of rocket that had itsinaugural launchlast week .
