SIM PlanetQuest

SIM PlanetQuest (formerly called Space Interferometry Mission), currently under development, will determine the positions and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than any previous program. This accuracy will allow SIM to determine the distances to stars throughout the galaxy and to probe nearby stars for Earth-sized planets. SIM will open a window to a new world of discoveries.

SIM PlanetQuest is designed as a space-based 9-m baseline optical Michelson interferometer operating in the visible waveband. This mission will open up many areas of astrophysics, via astrometry with unprecedented accuracy. SIM Planetquest will search for planetary companions to nearby stars, by detecting the astrometric 'wobble' relative to nearby reference stars.

Links

• SIM PlanetQuest website

People

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