In a newly published article, Professor Heidi Newberg from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute postulates on the differences between rectangular and circular mirrors.
In an editorial published on the Australian Science Media Exchange, she explains that Earth is the only known supporter of complex life in the universe, heavily reliant on the presence of liquid water to facilitate chemical reactions.
All of this suggests that life might be common on planets that support liquid water, but it might be uncommon to find life that studies the universe and seeks to travel through space, like we do. To find extraterrestrial life, it might be necessary for us to travel to it, she writes.
In the paper, she proposes a more feasible alternative – they demonstrate that it’s possible to find nearby, Earth-like planets orbiting sun-like stars with a telescope that is about the same size as the James Webb Space Telescope, operating at roughly the same infrared wavelength as JWST – around 10 microns, with a mirror that is a one by 20 meter rectangle instead of a circle 6.5 meters in diameter.
With a mirror of this shape and size, Professor Newberg claims they can separate a star from an exoplanet in the direction that the telescope mirror is 20 meters long. To find exoplanets at any position around a star, the mirror can be rotated so its long axis will sometimes align with the star and planet.
The design can, in principle, find half of all existing Earth-like planets orbiting sun-like stars within 30 light-years in less than three years. While the design will need further engineering and optimization before its capabilities are assured, there are no obvious requirements that need intense technological development, as is the case for other leading ideas she notes.