11-11-2022, 07:12 AM
First light for Keck exoplanet hunter; search for habitable planets
Keck has announced a successful first-light test of the Keck Planet Finder (KPF). This is an instrument designed to look at exoplanet atmospheres in an attempt to find which may support life. As is normal, the first test was carried out on a bright and well-known object so the instruments team can confirm the instrument works as expected. In this case, the target was Jupiter and after the spectrum it took was verified, they looked at an actual exoplanet.
https://www.keckobservatory.org/kpf/
"Last night, on Wednesday, November 9, the KPF team successfully captured a first light spectrum of Jupiter with the next-generation instrument, followed by a spectrum of KPF’s first star, 51 Pegasi, which hosts 51 Pegasi b – the first planet orbiting a Sun-like star that was discovered using the Doppler method. It is now poised to begin observing distant worlds with great precision in an effort to answer one of the most compelling questions in astronomy: are we alone?"
Big Island Now also has a story about it - https://bigislandnow.com/2022/11/10/keck...astronomy/
Keck has announced a successful first-light test of the Keck Planet Finder (KPF). This is an instrument designed to look at exoplanet atmospheres in an attempt to find which may support life. As is normal, the first test was carried out on a bright and well-known object so the instruments team can confirm the instrument works as expected. In this case, the target was Jupiter and after the spectrum it took was verified, they looked at an actual exoplanet.
https://www.keckobservatory.org/kpf/
"Last night, on Wednesday, November 9, the KPF team successfully captured a first light spectrum of Jupiter with the next-generation instrument, followed by a spectrum of KPF’s first star, 51 Pegasi, which hosts 51 Pegasi b – the first planet orbiting a Sun-like star that was discovered using the Doppler method. It is now poised to begin observing distant worlds with great precision in an effort to answer one of the most compelling questions in astronomy: are we alone?"
Big Island Now also has a story about it - https://bigislandnow.com/2022/11/10/keck...astronomy/