EXTRASOLAR PLANET CHARACTERISTICS IN THE VISIBLE WAVELENGTH RANGE

摘要

A cororiagraph operating in the visible wavelength range to detect and characterize extrasolar planets offers advantages over any other wavelength range. The physical characteristics of a planet and its atmosphere can be derived from its color and its low-resolution spectrum, both of which are discussed. An analytic method is presented for calculating the shapes of mirrors in a pupil-mapping coronagraph.