As part of the project, the VISIR instrument (VLT Imager and Spectrometer for mid-Infrared), which is part of the VLT, will be modified in order to be able to better detect potentially habitable planets in the star system some 4.37 light-years away from the Earth.
Breakthrough Initiative, funded by billionaire Yuri Milner and supported by physicist Stephen Hawking, will fund the upgrade.
Detecting habitable planets in distant star systems is extremely complicated as the planets are hidden in the bright light of their particular stars. The mid-infrared wavelength range makes it possible to find those planets as the difference in the thermal glow is smaller. Still, however, the planets are millions of times less bright than the stars.
The new technology to be developed for VISIR will enable capturing clearer images with the help of adaptive optics and the use of a method known as coronography, which reduces stellar light making the planets more visible...