Alien Continents

NASA

Mapping Alien Continents: Achieving Optical VLBI for Exoplanet Imaging 

Paul StankusBrookhaven Science Associates The scientific goal of the proposed work will be reconstructing the image, ie resolving surface features, of an Earth-like exoplanet around a nearby star as seen in visible light. The innovation is in two stages. First, the design of a new kind of nulling interferometer — “dynamic hierarchical nulling” — combining inputs from multiple apertures and capable…