Exoplanets have been an important part of the solar system discussions for a long time. The idea of a different ‘Earth’ is a wishful phenomenon that has been the subject of astronomers for decades. But now there is a reality with a private effort also known as Project Blue. This hopes to change the unknown and have built a satellite for a specific purpose - to directly capture images of exoplanet in the Alpha Centauri system.
Former NASA program director and project leader Jon Morse stated, -"There's this confluence of scientific imperative with the exoplanet discoveries from Kepler, and the whole community being energized.-" He further said, -"It's plausible that there are Earth-like planets in similar orbits around the two sun-stars in the Alpha Centauri system — and we're going to find out.-"
Jon Morse and his colleagues had started the BoldlyGo Institute, a private space research firm. They are working on a projects but Project Blue is collaboration with Alpha Centauri-focused non-profit firm Mission Centaur.
There have been surveys of space programmed by Kepler and other missions which have revealed the presence of Earth-like Exoplanet. However, data have suggested the presence of a exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf called Proxima Centauri. Project Blue will focus on other sun-like stars, known as Alpha Centauri A and B.
But the procedure of detecting planets is a difficult process. But a recent advance in imaging technique called coronagraphy has made it possible to detect Exoplanets in space. The University of Massachusetts Lowell is one of the project's partners; its scientists have been pushing the boundaries of interstellar coronagraphy. Armed with a general idea of the system and what kind of object they're looking for, they can narrow the search considerably.
Project Blue is still in its nascent phase and a lot of parameters have to be figured out. The cost for the project is $25 million. Project Blue will release more updates in the upcoming year.
“We do need to find multiple backers from possible crowd-funding to high net-worth individuals. But we also want to use in-kind contributions from partners and perhaps from the government as a partner as well,” states Morse.
