On Sunday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a new NASA telescope named Pandora into space. This telescope is now in a sun-synchronous orbit, ready to start its mission.
Pandora is designed to search for exoplanets—planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. While it’s smaller and less expensive than the James Webb Space Telescope, it still has impressive capabilities. Its 17-inch lens will help astronomers study individual exoplanets, something that seemed impossible just a couple of decades ago.
During its year-long mission, Pandora aims to observe at least 20 exoplanets and the stars they orbit. Daniel Apai, an astronomer from the University of Arizona, highlights that this mission will help clarify some previously confusing data, making it easier to investigate smaller exoplanets and search for possible signs of life.
Finding and studying exoplanets is challenging. Astronomers first confirmed an exoplanet in 1992, and only about 6,000 have been identified so far. This difficulty arises partly because exoplanets are often obscured by the light from their parent stars. To detect them, astronomers look for transits—moments when a planet passes in front of a star, causing a dip in light. They can then analyze the light for clues about the planet’s atmosphere.
Apai uses a wine analogy to describe this process: “Like holding a glass of wine up to a candle, the light filtering through can reveal details about the quality of the wine.” Similarly, by examining the starlight that passes through an exoplanet’s atmosphere, scientists can search for elements like water vapor and hints of life.
However, studying exoplanets comes with challenges. Recent research suggests that starspots—cool, fluctuating regions on stars—can confuse observations, making data less reliable. Apai calls this “trying to judge our wine in the light of flickering candles.”
Pandora thrives in this area. Built specifically for exoplanet research, it can dedicate much more time to observing than the Webb telescope. It will even spend 24 hours watching stars with infrared and visible light sensors, monitoring changes in starspots. During its mission, the telescope will revisit each star multiple times, gathering extensive data.
With this detailed information, Apai and his team will be able to better understand how changes in the stars impact the planets orbiting them. This could lead to significant breakthroughs in our knowledge of exoplanets and the potential for life beyond Earth.
As interest in exoplanets grows, the scientific community eagerly anticipates the data Pandora will provide. The research could be pivotal in answering long-standing questions about the universe and our place within it.
For more insights into this exciting field, you can read a detailed article on NASA’s efforts to explore exoplanets here.
