Physics
Scientific paper
Oct 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996icar..123..249l&link_type=abstract
Icarus, Volume 123, Issue 2, pp. 249-255.
Physics
96
Scientific paper
We revisit the idea of R. Bracewell and R. Angel et al., that exoplanets around nearby stars could be detected in the IR (6-17 μm) and their spectra analyzed, searching for CO_2, H_2O, O_3, CH_4, and NH_3 spectral features. The presence, or absence, of CO_2 would be the indication of a deep similarity, or difference, with the atmospheres of telluric planets in the Solar System. That of H_2O would indicate a habitable planet and O_3 would reveal a large photosynthetic activity, indicating the presence of life based on carbon chemistry. As do these authors, we suggest an IR nulling interferometer pointing to the star and working as a coronograph. Our main contribution is to propose an observatory made of four to five 1-m class telescopes observing from 4-5 AU to avoid the solar zodiacal light (ZL) background at 10 μm instead of four 8-m telescopes observing from the vicinity of Earth. This allows the mission to be feasible in the near future. The discovery of ozone on an extrasolar planet would be a major scientific event. The concept, named DARWIN, is under consideration by the European Space Agency for its Horizon 2000 Plus program.
Leger Alain
Mariotti Jean-Marie
Mennesson Bertrand
Ollivier Marc
Puget Jean-Loop
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