{"id":3261,"date":"2025-10-03T14:36:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?p=3261"},"modified":"2025-10-03T14:36:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:36:59","slug":"new-telescope-cuts-through-space-noise-in-hunt-for-distant-earth-like-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/3261\/new-telescope-cuts-through-space-noise-in-hunt-for-distant-earth-like-worlds\/","title":{"rendered":"New telescope cuts through space noise in hunt for distant Earth-like worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"

EU-funded researchers are developing powerful new telescopes to help uncover Earth-like planets around distant stars and advance the search for extraterrestrial life.<\/p>\n

By<\/em> Jonathan O\u2019Callaghan<\/p>\n

Across the billions of galaxies and stars in the universe, only one place is known to host life \u2013 Earth. Yet the hope of finding other living worlds drives scientists to pursue ever-smarter methods in their search.<\/p>\n

Despite cataloguing roughly 6\u00a0000 exoplanets, a replica of Earth \u2013 a planet similar in size that orbits a star like our Sun in a similar position to us \u2013 has yet to be identified. This is not for lack of effort. Rather, it reflects the challenges involved.<\/p>\n

While scientists have found rocky planets similar in size to Earth around smaller red dwarf stars, those around sun-like stars are much harder to detect because they appear comparatively smaller against their brighter host stars. However, a new telescope could help researchers in this search.<\/p>\n

Doing so could expand our search for habitability in the galaxy. We know that Earth is just the right size and distance from its host star to support water and life. Is the same true elsewhere?<\/p>\n

Cutting through the noise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Nuno Santos, a leading Portuguese astrophysicist and a driving force behind exoplanet exploration in Europe, is heading up an EU-funded team of researchers developing new observational tools. They will help cut through the interference created by these distant fiery \u201csuns\u201d.<\/p>\n

One of the main hurdles is the \u201cnoise\u201d generated by stars such as our Sun.<\/p>\n

The churning plasma and shifting magnetic fields on their surfaces produce a series of phenomena in the stellar atmospheres, including dark spots and a \u201cgranulation\u201d pattern \u2013 much like the rolling boil of water. This obscures the faint signal that marks a planet crossing in front of its star.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the surface of the Sun, it looks like a boiling pot of water, speckled with darker and brighter regions,\u201d Santos said. \u201cThe big issue is that we don\u2019t really understand how to diagnose this noise that comes from the star.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based at the Institute for Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal, Santos and his team are building a brand-new telescope called PoET \u2013 Paranal solar Espresso Telescope \u2013 as part of an EU-funded initiative named FIERCE, which runs until September 2027.<\/p>\n

This compact instrument measures just 60\u00a0centimetres across and is destined for Chile, where it will operate alongside the European Southern Observatory\u2019s Very Large Telescope (VLT), stationed on a mountain in the Atacama Desert.<\/p>\n

Rather than tracking planets around distant stars, PoET will focus on our own Sun, analysing the noise produced by granulation and related processes.<\/p>\n

The solar telescope will connect with another space-exploring instrument stationed in Chile, called ESPRESSO \u2013 the Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations. It is specifically designed to separate starlight into its different colours and study the planets that orbit distant stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy connecting ESPRESSO to solar observations, we hope to understand exactly how the Sun is behaving in different regions,\u201d said Santos.<\/p>\n

This will yield a detailed spectrum of chemical elements coming from the Sun, revealing how they change as the surface shifts. Ultimately, these findings will help astronomers filter out noise from observations of other Sun-like stars, making it easier to detect distant, Earth-like planets.<\/p>\n

Preparing for PLATO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Observations with PoET are expected to begin by the end of 2025 and continue for three years. The telescope uses an optical configuration to block all but the part of the Sun under study.<\/p>\n

PoET will make daytime observations with ESPRESSO operated remotely by Santos from Porto. At night, ESPRESSO will return to its main role with the VLT.<\/p>\n

This groundwork is particularly crucial as the European Space Agency prepares for its PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) mission, launching in 2026.<\/p>\n

The PLATO space telescope will use 26 cameras to search for planets orbiting a million stars, focusing on Earth-like worlds around Sun-like stars. Its instruments will measure each planet\u2019s radius, enabling scientists to determine density and composition \u2013 even across hundreds or thousands of light years.<\/p>\n

Reducing stellar noise with PoET will be essential for PLATO to take precise measurements. \u201cWe have to find a way to get rid of this noise to be able to fully exploit the data from the upcoming PLATO mission,\u201d said Santos.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope and our expectation is that PoET will learn enough so that we\u2019ll be able to reduce the noise to the needed level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bolder efforts ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

FIERCE and PoET exist thanks to support from the European Research Council (ERC). \u201cWe could not do this without the ERC,\u201d said Santos.<\/p>\n

His team\u2019s work gives Europe a vital role in the global hunt for habitable worlds, with missions like PLATO promising exciting new discoveries.<\/p>\n

If all proceeds as planned, PoET could provide results by mid-2026, offering vital data for PLATO once it is launched.<\/p>\n

Further ahead, missions such as NASA\u2019s Habitable Worlds Observatory, expected in the 2040s, and the next big European telescope, due to be completed by 2030, will attempt to directly image some of the potentially habitable planets found by PLATO and look for signs of life.<\/p>\n

But before then, astronomers must discover how many such worlds exist, and where to find them. \u201cThe quest for earths orbiting other suns is one of the big questions we have,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n

Telescopes like PoET and PLATO will push the boundaries of what is possible in our space quests. Their progress will increase our understanding of the cosmos as we uncover more about our galaxy, but also about the potential for life far beyond our home.<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u200bThis article was originally published\u202fin\u00a0Horizon<\/a>\u00a0the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

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