{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='WFIRST\u0026#39;s Coronagraph Instrument' data-url='/boclips/videos/6280ea8a0e9817040a46e030' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/6280ea8a0e9817040a46e030' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nWFIRST\u0026#39;s Coronagraph Instrument\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"384398\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=384398\"\u003eNASA\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eWhen a new NASA space telescope opens its eyes in the mid 2020s, it will peer at the universe through some of the most sophisticated sunglasses ever designed.This multi-layered technology, the coronagraph instrument, might more rightly...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eWhen a new NASA space telescope opens its eyes in the mid 2020s, it will peer at the universe through some of the most sophisticated sunglasses ever designed.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis multi-layered technology, the coronagraph instrument, might more rightly be called \"starglasses\": a system of masks, prisms, detectors and even self-flexing mirrors built to block out the glare from distant stars -- and reveal the planets in orbit around them.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eNormally, that glare is overwhelming, blotting out any chance of seeing orbiting planets. The star's photons -- particles of light -- swamp those from the planet when they hit the telescope.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eWFIRST's coronagraph just completed a major milestone: a preliminary design review by NASA. The instrument has met all design, schedule and budget requirements, and can now proceed to the next phase, b uilding hardware for flight.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe WFIRST mission's coronagraph is meant to demonstrate the power of increasingly advanced technology. As it captures light directly from large, gaseous exoplanets, and from disks of dust and gas surrounding other stars, it will point the way to the future: single pixel \"images\" of rocky planets the size of Earth. Then the light can be spread into a rainbow spectrum, revealing which gases are present in the planet's atmosphere -- perhaps oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, and maybe even signs of life.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe two flexible mirrors inside the coronagraph are key components. As light that has traveled tens of light-years from an exoplanet enters the telescope, thousands of actuators move like pistons, changing the shape of the mirrors in real time. The flexing of these \"deformable mirrors\" compensates for tiny flaws and changes in the telescope's optics.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eChanges on the mirrors' surfaces are so precise they can compensate for errors smalle r than the width of a strand of DNA.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThese mirrors, in tandem with high-tech \"masks,\" another major advance, squelch the star's diffraction as well - the bending of light waves around the edges of light-blocking elements inside the coronagraph.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe result: blinding starlight is sharply dimmed, and faintly glowing, previously hidden planets appear.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe star-dimming technology also could bring the clearest-ever images of distant star systems' formative years -- when they are still swaddled in disks of dust and gas as infant planets take shape inside.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe instrument's deformable mirrors and other advanced technology -- known as \"active wavefront control\" -- should mean a leap of 100 to 1,000 times the capability of previous coronagraphs. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eMusic: \"Concept of Motion\" from Universe Production Music\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center \u003cbr/\u003eScott Wiessinger (USRA): Lead Producer\u003cbr/\u003eFrancis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Science Writer\u003cbr/\u003eNeil Gehrels (NASA/GSFC): Scientist\u003cbr/\u003eKrystofer Kim (USRA): Lead Animator\u003cbr/\u003eClaire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC): Lead Public Affairs Officer\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e \u003cbr/\u003e  \u003cbr/\u003e \u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan 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id='concepts-heading'\u003eConcepts\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='details-list concepts' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator6280ea8a0e9817040a46e030' data-type='concepts'\u003enasa, space, light, stars, mirrors, planets\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='concepts-toggle-buttons' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator6280ea8a0e9817040a46e030'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' class='more btn-link' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-down ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='true' class='less btn-link' style='display: none;' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow Less\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-up ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='additional-tags-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='additional-tags-heading'\u003eAdditional Tags\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='details-list keyterms' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator6280ea8a0e9817040a46e030' data-type='keyterms'\u003ecoronagraph, universe, exoplanet, wfirst, scott wiessinger, star, image, distortions, planet, block, disappear, reduce, destructive, hidden, blobs\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='keyterms-toggle-buttons' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator6280ea8a0e9817040a46e030'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' class='more btn-link' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-down ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='true' class='less btn-link' style='display: none;' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow Less\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-up 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