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New Delhi, India
Is there life on another planet? Maybe yes, maybe not. The world needs proof to believe and scientists, who are intrigued with the gazillion possibilities of life on another planet, seek answers in space. Scientists have launched several space explorations and developed intricate technologies for alien-hunting missions, including ANDES.
ANDES, short for the ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph, is a powerful new instrument which is being developed to look for extraterrestrial life on distant planets. This cutting-edge technology aims at detecting signs of life on Earth-like exoplanets.
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It will also focus on analysing chemical elements in faraway objects in the early universe. The instrument could also become the first instrument capable of detecting signatures of Population III stars, which are the earliest stars born in the universe.
Recently, a deal was finalised by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to develop and build this advanced instrument.
In a press release, Alessandro Marconi, ANDES principal investigator, said, "ANDES is an instrument with an enormous potential for groundbreaking scientific discoveries, which can deeply affect our perception of the Universe far beyond the small community of scientists."
New milestone reached for ESO's #ELT! ??
Today, ESO has signed an agreement with an international consortium of institutions for the design and construction of ANDES, one of the ELT instruments ?️ 1/
Read more: https://t.co/ATFIOGDw1F
? ESO pic.twitter.com/JRrW4tuQ7O
— ESO (@ESO) June 5, 2024
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Notably, the scientists are planning to install the instrument on ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which is currently under construction in Chile's Atacama Desert. The telescope will be used to look for signs of life on other planets as well as the first stars.
The instrument will have record-high wavelength precision in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths of light. The findings will help researchers in vast astronomical fields, especially when combined with the ELT's strong mirror system.
(With inputs from agencies)