Plato mission: Göttingen is making the search for exoplanets ahead!
Plato mission: Göttingen is making the search for exoplanets ahead!
In the world of astronomy, the European Exoplanet Mission Plato has made a significant progress that inspires both scientists and space enthusiasts. As the website Göttinger Tageblatt Optical bench with 26 state -of -the -art cameras successfully installed in the clean rooms of OHB System AG in Oberpfaffenhofen. These cameras are used to recognize subtle brightness waste from stars that indicate the passage of exoplanets.
But that's just the beginning! The cameras are part of a system that is able to generate data to an enormous extent - it is estimated that there will be several dozen petabytes. This information is analyzed in the newly created Plato Data Center (PDC) at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen. Here the basis for researching basic questions about the existence of earth -like planets is placed.
A look into the future
The start of this exciting mission is planned for the end of 2026. The Institute for Space Research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is responsible for planning and execution. The aim of Plato is to find out whether our earth is unique or whether there are comparable planets that could possibly accommodate life. Over 200,000 stars are observed in the course of the four -year mission - this is a very nice chunk of interstellar research!
In the next few years, the European Space Organization (ESA) is planning to support Plato even further. As on the page HJKC , the mission will also be significant knowledge about the masses, sizes and the age of these planets. This is done in the context of asteroseism, a method that allows scientists to analyze the inner structures and the development of stars.
technological refinements
The cameras will deliver pictures every 25 seconds and come to impressive 20.3 megapixels per camera, which leads to impressive 2.11 gigapixels for the entire spacecraft. This technology has already successfully passed this technology, which significantly underlines the operational readiness of the mission. Particular attention is paid to the temperature adjustment of the cameras, which was implemented innovatively. These developments were continuously monitored by ESA employees and representatives of industry, as mentioned on Astronomy.info
Overall, Plato will now receive the finishing touches before the spacecraft starts its way to the L2 Lagrange point, which is about 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth. Here the mission will measure the vibrations of thousands of sun -like stars and thereby significantly expand our idea of planetary systems. The researchers have clearly proven a good hand, because with the Plato mission Europe marks a decisive step in researching exoplanets and their possible living conditions.
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| Ort | Göttingen, Deutschland |
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