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DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/308525
Title The Big Occulting Steerable Satellite (BOSS)
Creator/Author Copi, Craig J. ; Starkman, Glenn D.
Publication Date2000 Mar 20
OSTI IdentifierOSTI ID: 20216830
Other Number(s)ISSN 0004-637X; ASJOAB ; TRN: US00Z1863
Resource TypeJournal Article
Resource RelationAstrophysical Journal ; VOL. 532 ; ISSUE: 1 ; PBD: 20 Mar 2000
Subject71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS ; PLANETS; DETECTION; SPACE VEHICLES; TELESCOPES; RESOLUTION
Description/Abstract Natural (such as lunar) occultations have long been used to study sources on small angular scales, while coronographs have been used to study high-contrast sources. We describe here the properties of the Big Occulting Steerable Satellite (BOSS), a large steerable occulting satellite to combine both of these techniques. BOSS will have several advantages over standard occulting bodies. BOSS would block all but about 4x10{sup -5} of the light at 1{mu}m in the region of interest around the star for planet detections (with even better blocking possible using new film surface etching techniques). Because the occultation occurs outside the telescope, scattering inside the telescope does not degrade this performance. BOSS could be combined with a space telescope at the Earth-Sun L2 point to yield very long integration times, in excess of 3000 s. If placed in Earth orbit, integration times of 160-1600 s can be achieved from most major telescope sites for objects in over 90% of the sky. Applications for BOSS include direct imaging of planets around nearby stars. Planets separated by as little as 0.1''-0.25'' from the star they orbit could be seen down to a relative intensity as little as 1x10{sup -9} around a magnitude 8 (or brighter) star. Other applications include ultra-high-resolution imaging of compound sources, such as microlensed stars and quasars, down to a resolution as little as 0.1 mas. (c) 2000 The American Astronomical Society.
Country of PublicationUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Formatpage(s) 581-592
System Entry Date2002 Jan 16

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