Worlds largest Photometer

[starriderrick]

Kepler as it is named. It is a spacecraft with a specialized telescope.

This is a photo of a litho off my drafting table.
A Nasa press release. A fascinating project.
Kepler launches in 2008

Kepler Mission: A Search for Habitable Planets
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Kepler will stare at one large area of the sky a little larger than an open hand at arm's length in the constellation Cygnus.
It will stare continuously for 4 years---virtually never blinking---making brightness measurements of 100,000 stars every 30 minutes.

42 ccd sensors
Focal plane array;
>100 sq. deg. FOV

http://kepler.nasa.gov/about/

[walterick]

"Kepler will stare at one large area of the sky a little larger than an open hand at arm's length in the constellation Cygnus.
It will stare continuously for 4 years---virtually never blinking---making brightness measurements of 100,000 stars every 30 minutes."

That's incredible! Amazing the technology we now have

I also wanted to welcome you to the Viewfinder forum, Starriderrick. I know you frequent the galleries quite a bit. Hope to see you posting around these parts more in the future!

Other Rick