Red-enhanced cameras to seek rocky planets transiting Ultra-Cool Dwarfs

This project will provide essential instruments to three telescopes. Two of these telescopes will be constructed in Tenerife, Spain as part of the SPECULOOS project, while the third already exists, in Antarctica, and is called ASTEP. Several research themes are possible with these telescopes, but we will use the vast majority of the telescopes' time to observe ultra-cool dwarfs. These are objects with masses less than 15% of the Sun's. Their small size means that it is easier to detect planets as small as the Earth, that orbit them. We aim to detect Earth-size planets as they transit in front of their host star. Doing so they hide a fraction of the stellar surface, which we can detect as a drop in brightness. An example is the renown TRAPPIST-1 system that we detected as part of a pilot project. Around that star, we identified seven temperate planets with properties similar to many our Solar system's planets. TRAPPIST-1 has become the most optimal set of planets for which we initiate the search for evidence of life beyond the Solar system. This project aims to discover more planetary systems like TRAPPIST-1. Detecting a dozen such systems will enhance our understanding of planet formation, and help inform us about where our Earth stands within the many outcomes of Nature.

The reason we seek planets orbiting ultra-cool stars, rather than stars like the Sun is because ultra-cool stars, and the planets orbiting them have very advantageous properties. Notably it is easier to study these worlds in detailed manners. Particularly, we will be able to collect data about the chemical composition of their atmosphere using upcoming state-of-the-art facilities. We expect to detect a few dozen Earth-size planets. Atmospheric investigations of these worlds will reveal the types of climates that terrestrial worlds have, showing whether they are similar or different to Earth and Venus. Such data may also provide empirical means of assessing surface habitability. Eventually, it will also be possible to seek chemical evidence that biology is active, and find out how frequently life emerges in the Universe, and under which conditions it does so.

Ultra-cool dwarfs are brightest in redder wavelengths, requiring instrumentation that is particularly sensitive to the same redder wavelengths. We have identified and already tested such an instrument, which produced data of a remarkable quality. As we are expanding the number of telescope in our possession, to the Northern hemisphere, we also wish to equip them with the same highly-performant cameras. The goal of this request for funds is to purchase three such cameras. Two will participate in the SPECULOOS project, detecting new Earths orbiting ultra-cool dwarfs within the Solar neighbourhood. The third camera will be mounted on an existing telescope built at one of the highest altitudes of Antarctica, and benefitting from nights lasting months, which is particularly convenient to confirm planetary systems such as those identified with SPECULOOS.

Detection of exoplanets have quite clearly triggered the general public's curiosity, if we count how regularly news about exoplanets appear on mainstream media. Finding out "whether or not there is life out there" is one of humanity's oldest philosophical questions remaining without empirical evidence, but having been debated about in writings for nearly 2,500 years. The research opened up by the purchase of three excellent cameras will detect several planets with sizes similar to Earth. Those detections are likely to present temperate surface conditions. These detections will immediately launch investigations aimed as measuring the chemical content of their atmospheres. The detection of an atmosphere orbiting another world similar to Earth will most likely generate significant public attention, as an important step towards one day identifying the presence of biology outside the Solar system.
Harnessing the public's curiosity is a fantastic opportunity to showcase how good science works to answer previously unfathomable topics. The methods behind the remote exploration of alien worlds are a striking example of human ingenuity. We will engage with the public to foster greater science literacy, and raise children's interests into STEM topics. Hopefully, our discoveries will inspire and motivate the next generation of great inventors.

Installing one of the three cameras we request in Antarctica will help us test how electronic and optical systems behave in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Antarctic has many properties that would benefit Astronomy enormously, providing observing conditions as close to those found in space, but on the ground. Harnessing those may trigger an important new area in observational Astronomy, and through that, lead to the development of new technologies with wider applications.
Without actual experience of Antarctic conditions, it is hard to motive further efforts. This project will make us access the experience and expertise collected for many years by our French collaborators, and will train us to appreciate the challenges and opportunities of Antarctica. Our presence there will also sustain this quasi utopian ideal of a continent dedicated to research, and whose resources belong to all Nations on Earth, at a period in time when we are getting ever closer to exploiting space resources, on the Moon, on asteroids, and on Mars.