A Long-distance "Microscope"

The StarLight project will test the technology of interferometry (en-ter-fear-AH-muh-tree) in space. Did you know that StarLight will be able to "see" so well, if it were to focus on a single hair on someone's head 2 kilometers (about 1 mile) away, it could see how much that hair grew in one second!

How can it do that?

The two StarLight mission spacecraft will orbit the sun, sort of tagging along behind Earth. Both spacecraft will carry telescope mirrors. Both telescope mirrors will be turned to look at the same star. Star light from the two mirrors will be combined to create a very good image, which is then sent back to Earth. Laser beams are used to keep the two spacecraft very precisely aligned. To see the star this well with one telescope, its mirror would have to be as wide as the whole distance between the two spacecraft telescopes! These two spacecraft telescopes will be as much as 1 kilometer (over one-half mile) apart. The awesome technologies developed and tested on StarLight will help future missions, such as the Space Interferometry Mission and the Terrestrial (meaning Earth-like) Planet Finder mission, to find Earth-sized planets around other stars.

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