Space Interferometry Mission
Videos
The Space Interferometry Mission, or SIM, also known as SIM Lite, was a planned space telescope proposed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in conjunction with contractor North
Artist's concept of the SIM Lite Astrometric Observatory in space
A 2006 artist's impression of the SIM Lite predecessor, SIM PlanetQuest, design
This chart depicts the potential number of habitable planets and other planets that SIM Lite was expected to detect. The number of one-Earth mass planets assumes 40% of mission time is assigned to the search.
SIM Lite would have been able to detect Earth-sized planets, such as in this artist's rendering.
Gravitational microlensing
Videos
Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon caused by the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects that range from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardles
The object causing the microlensing in NGC 6553 bent the light of a red giant star in the background.
A Horseshoe Einstein Ring from Hubble
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