How to Observe an Exoplanet in High Resolution Using Sun’s Gravity
The project of a space mission never attempted before, capable of producing the image of an exoplanet’s surface up to distances of 100 light-years from the Earth with the resolution of 1 megapixel, enough to see the presence of any signs of life clearly
Studies carried out over the past three decades, using, in particular, the transit and radial velocity methods, have revealed the existence of over 4,000 planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. Many of these planets are gas giants with temperatures of thousands of degrees that orbit at a very short distance from their parent star and are presumably utterly inhospitable to life. But, among the thousands of planets discovered so far, some have characteristics similar to Earth [1]. For the moment, the similarities with our planet are limited to the mass, radius, and amount of radiation that those planets receive from their star. However, in the absence of more precise data, even this little information is enough to give birth to the keen desire to learn more, with the hope of finding an exact twin of the Earth (or something similar).
