In the coming years, the twinkle of stars in the night sky may be intertwined with the glow of laser beams.
A new NASA space project, the Landolt Mission, plans to launch an artificial “star” into Earth orbit. The project will be used to more accurately determine the absolute flux calibration of stars, also known as brightness.
Ground control for the mission will be based at George Mason University in Virginia.
The mission expands on the work of its inspiration and namesake, Arlo Landolt, the late astronomer and pioneer in recording the brightness of stars.
“His last name is well-known throughout the astronomy community. The Landolt Standard Star … is a familiar name,” said Daniel Huber, associate astronomer and professor at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii.
The new project will compare the brightness of the artificial star with that of real stars. The “star” is actually a satellite equipped with eight lasers that will orbit 35,785 kilometers from Earth, a distance far enough to simulate the characteristics of a real star.
While the satellite won’t be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, it will be visible through personal telescopes.
Scientists will conduct ground-based observations of the “star” from telescopes at various locations, including the University of Hawaii.
Because the satellite has a known rate of photon emission, scientists will be able to compare the brightness of the laser to the brightness of the star, developing more precise brightness measurements and new catalogs of stellar brightnesses.
The project, if successful, could have far-reaching implications.
“We always relate the amount of light a star sends us to derive almost all of our data in astronomy,” Jonathan Gangé, scientific advisor to the Montreal Planetarium and adjunct professor at the University of Montreal, told VOA. Gangé,
one of the scientists involved in the project, will help select the stars to be measured.
The project’s results could be used to understand the evolution of stars and the composition of exoplanets — planets that could harbor life. More accurate measurements could also lead to a better understanding of dark energy and the expansion rate of the universe.
The project could even be used to help find other Earth-like planets for humans to inhabit in the future.
“There’s a group of people who are exoplanet experts who like to predict where they might see Earth-like planets, and for them it’s really important to understand the properties of stars,” said Susana Deustua, a physical scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the project’s liaison.
While the project has many potential practical applications, members are also excited about its intangibles, such as the mentoring effect on a new generation of scientists.
The collaborative and teaching nature of the project even draws on the humanities, according to Peter Plavchan, associate professor of physics and astronomy at George Mason University and principal investigator for the Landolt mission.
“We developed this novel approach that actually borrowed from theater. It’s a bench system that pairs senior project roles on the mission with junior scientists and junior engineers. It’s a true partnership,” Plavchan told VOA.
A launch date has not yet been finalized, but it is expected to take place sometime in 2029.
Other collaborating institutions include Blue Canyon Technologies and the University of Victoria.