PEGASE is a design for a space observatory developed by France in the early 2000s.Pegase: a space-based nulling interferometer
/ref> It combined formation flying with infrared telescopes operating as a double-aperture

interferometer Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...

. Three free-flying

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

s would operate together;a beam combiner and two siderostats. The baseline of the interferometer would be adjustable to between 50 and 500 meters. The goal of the mission is the study of

Hot Jupiter Hot Jupiters (sometimes called hot Saturns) are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter but that have very short orbital periods (). The close proximity to their stars and high surface-atmosphere temp ...

s ("pegasids"),

brown dwarf Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...

s and the interior of

protoplanetary disk A protoplanetary disk is a rotating circumstellar disc of dense gas and dust surrounding a young newly formed star, a T Tauri star, or Herbig Ae/Be star. The protoplanetary disk may also be considered an accretion disk for the star itself, be ...

s. The design was developed by

Centre National d'Études Spatiales The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...

and was studied for a launch as early as 2010–2012. However, the Phase-0 part of the study in 2005 suggested it would take 8 or 9 years to develop.

References

CNES Exoplanet search projects Interferometric telescopes Proposed spacecraft Space telescopes Space program of France {{astrobiology-stub

See also

References