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197 points amichail | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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irrational ◴[] No.41870199[source]
How would this kind of thing work in practice? You move the telescope out to 500AU, and then... what? I assume the telescope would have to line up a potential star system with our sun in a direct line. So the telescope would have to move around until everything is lined up. Then I presume it would need to take a wide angle view of that star system to look for a likely planet. Would it need to move closer or farther away from our sun to get a wider field of view? Once it found a suitable planet, I presume it would need to collect light from that planet over an extended period of time, say 6 months. But, the planet is moving during those six months. How does the telescope keep the planet in view? Is the telescope constantly moving to keep pace with the planet? How much fuel would we have to send out there with the telescope?
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ant6n ◴[] No.41871482[source]
There’s no wide angle in a gravitational lens. It’s only a couple of square km of view into the other system. So the telescope needs to lign up perfectly, and move around to follow the exoplanet. It’s a very difficult task.
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irrational ◴[] No.41872626[source]
How would they even find an exoplanet as small as earth if all they can see is a couple of square km? Point it at the system and hope the planet just happens to move across the field of view?
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1. ant6n ◴[] No.41878004[source]
You need to already know it's there and specifically point at it. It's hard to point so exactly.