Weekly Space Hangout - Bringing Exoplanets Into Focus, Bit By Bit, With Alex Madurowicz

<p class="p1"><a href= "https://youtu.be/fFIlz3Z9WIA">https://youtu.be/fFIlz3Z9WIA</a></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Host:</strong> Fraser Cain ( <a href="https://twitter.com/fcain">@fcain</a> )</span><span class= "s2"><br /></span><span class="s1"><strong>Special Guest:</strong></span> Gravitational lensing has been used to discover far-distant galaxies that are obstructed from view thanks to the inconvenient positioning of astronomical interlopers. Recently, researchers have begun asking if this same lensing technique could be adapted to use the gravity of OUR SUN to suss out never-before seen details of the more than 5000 exoplanets discovered to date. It is thought that by aligning the sun in a straight line between a space-based telescope and an exoplanet, exoplanet images could be obtained. But this would require a lot of fuel and time.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Tonight's guest is <strong>Alexander Madurowicz</strong>, PhD candidate at Stanford University. Alex has developed an algorithm that reconstructs an exoplanet's surface using a single, annular image acquired by looking directly at the sun. Light from this ring is then undistorted by reversing its having been bent by the gravitational lens (i.e., our Sun,) which yields the ring of light being turned back into a whole, round planet. This method of imaging exoplanets was presented in a paper published in The Astrophysical Journal on May 2, 2022. [<a href= "https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU4xekhyWlFVWUJkdDNFUXZxUnJHLVlwVVF2d3xBQ3Jtc0trajVCcWFnVmZqa3NLb1VTcUZvSmt5T0tDMjRUVGJaT1JtWUlrQ2Y5WGk3UEt2c1dkSWU0NXlPLXFINzcwR3JEUlJnY3UwZGx6UmRIWUFja0w5em9iVDBhQVh0eFFPQUhpdGVaYTdBU3ZqTHlwOXVSaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fiopscience.iop.org%2Farticle%2F10.3847%2F1538-4357%2Fac5e9d&v=fFIlz3Z9WIA">https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...</a>]</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Alex Madurowicz is a Physics PhD candidate at Stanford University. His research interests are in astronomical instrumentation, spec