Mary-Louise Hoffman
Northrop Grumman has experimented with an occulting technology the company built to help astronomers view and study celestial objects from Earth.
The company demonstrated circular and petal-shaped designs of its starshade in conjunction with the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope during engineering tests at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, Northrop said Tuesday.
It marks the first time that an occulter was tested to observe actual astronomical bodies, the company noted.
“We were amazed at just how effectively the petal-shaped starshade design canceled the light coming from very bright planets and bright star[s],” said Steve Warwick, a Northrop systems engineer and test lead.
“These tests added considerably to our engineering knowledge and opened the possibility that the McMath starshade demonstration can collect scientifically important data that might not be attainable any other way,” Warwick added.
Northrop designed the starshade to block out a nearby star’s light to allow scientists to track Earth-like planets.
