{"id":13519,"date":"2016-11-16T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13519"},"modified":"2016-11-15T21:59:07","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T02:59:07","slug":"kickstarter-project-blue-aims-to-see-exoplanets-at-alpha-centauri-with-low-cost-space-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13519","title":{"rendered":"Kickstarter: Project Blue aims to see exoplanets at Alpha Centauri with low cost space observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Project Blue<\/a>\u00a0intends to develop a small, low cost space telescope that looks continually at our nearest neighboring star system, Alpha Centauri<\/a>, and try to directly image any\u00a0planets orbiting it. A coronagraph<\/a> will be used to block the otherwise blinding glare of the stars.<\/p>\n

The project\u00a0has opened a\u00a0Kickstarter campaign<\/a>\u00a0to raise $1M to fund the initial design study for the system, which is expected eventually to cost around $30M.<\/p>\n

… we need your help. This isn\u2019t a traditional space mission. Within astrophysics, NASA has traditionally funded projects with a much broader scope, like Kepler and Hubble, rather than a project like ours that is focused on a single target. So we started this campaign with the belief that together, people all over the world could push the boundaries of discovery in space, and possibly achieve one of the greatest milestones of human exploration.<\/em><\/p>\n

With the formation of Project Blue, we brought together the technical experts who can build and launch this telescope: scientists from organizations like BoldlyGo Institute<\/a>, Mission Centaur<\/a>, the SETI Institute<\/a>, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell<\/a>. And now we\u2019re asking for your support to get involved, and make Project Blue a reality.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here is a video about the project:<\/p>\n