Thursday, July 6, 2006

Astronomy / Science Blog Space shield could help image Earth-like planets. A gigantic, daisy-shaped space shield could be used to block out pesky starlight and allow astronomers using an orbiting telescope to zero in on Earth-like planets in other solar systems, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder study. The thin plastic "starshade" would allow a telescope trailing thousands of miles behind it to image light from distant planets skimming by the giant petals without being swamped by light from the parent stars. read more [Science Blog -] 10:40:17 AM