Progress towards imaging another pale blue dot: taking high-contrast imaging from the lab to space
Dr. Ewan Douglas
University of Arizona
Reflected light imaging of exoplanets will require exquisite suppression of residual starlight, speckles, as well as minimizing astrophysical background, such as exozodiacal light. I will describe recent work in both these areas, both developing and testing wavefront control and starlight suppression technologies for space, including the PICTURE sounding rockets, the Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission CubeSat, and current work in the lab on the University of Arizona Space COronagraph Optical Bench. I will also introduce several high-contrast imaging simulation tools and predictions for the sensitivity of the Nancy Grace Grace Roman Space Telescope to exozodiacal dust, which will inform the design of future missions.
Virtual talk - email physics@nd.edu for zoom link
Hosted by Dr. Spalding