The Critical, Strategic Importance of Adaptive Optics-Assisted Ground-Based Telescopes for the Success of Future NASA Exoplanet Direct Imaging Missions
Creators
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Currie, Thayne1
- Belikov, Ruslan1
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Guyon, Olivier
- Kasdin, N. Jeremy2
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Marois, Christian
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Marley, Mark S.1
- Cahoy, Kerri3
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Mawet, Dimitri4
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McElwain, Michael
- Bendek, Eduardo1
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Kuchner, Marc J.
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Meyer, Michael R.5
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Ammons, S. Mark6
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Girard, Julien7
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Hasegawa, Yasuhiro8
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López-Morales, Mercedes9
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Lyra, Wladimir8
- Mazin, Ben10
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Mennesson, Bertrand8
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Packham, Chris11
- Robinson, Tyler12
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1.
Ames Research Center
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2.
Princeton University
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3.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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4.
California Institute of Technology
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5.
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
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6.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
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7.
Space Telescope Science Institute
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8.
Jet Propulsion Lab
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9.
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
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10.
University of California, Santa Barbara
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11.
The University of Texas at San Antonio
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12.
Northern Arizona University
Abstract
Ground-based telescopes coupled with adaptive optics (AO) have been playing a leading role in exoplanet direct imaging science and technological development for the past two decades and will continue to have an indispensable role for the next decade and beyond. Over the next decade, extreme AO systems on 8-10m telescopes will 1) mitigate risk for WFIRST-CGI by identifying numerous planets the mission can spectrally characterize, 2) validate performance requirements and motivate improvements to atmosphere models needed to unambiguously characterize solar system-analogues from space, and 3) mature novel technological innovations useful for space. Extremely Large Telescopes can deliver the first thermal infrared (10 μm) images of rocky planets around Sun-like stars and identify biomarkers. These data provide a future NASA direct imaging flagship mission (i.e. HabEx, LUVOIR) with numerous exo-Earth candidates and critical ancillary information to help clarify whether these planets are habitable.
Attached Files
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Additional details
Identifiers
- Eprint ID
- 96488
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20190617-154836647
Related works
- Describes
- http://arxiv.org/abs/1903.05468 (URL)
Dates
- Created
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2019-06-17Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2023-06-02Created from EPrint's last_modified field
Caltech Custom Metadata
- Caltech groups
- Astronomy Department
- Series Name
- Astro2020 Science White Paper