First Results from Infrared Planet Searcher Revealed

A new milestone in space exploration was reached today with the publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics of the first scientific results from the Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS), co-led by scientists at Université de Montréal. NIRPS is a high-resolution spectrograph designed to detect exoplanets and analyze their atmospheres. Operational since April 2013, it represents a major technological advance in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system. Installed on the 3.6-meter telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile, NIRPS involves a consortium of over 140 specialists from six countries: Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France, and Brazil, with support from the European Southern Observatory.

The Canadian team, notably from the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic and the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets at Université de Montréal, played a crucial role in the NIRPS project. The instrument's uniqueness lies in its ability to observe in the near-infrared, making it effective for studying cool, red stars called M dwarfs, which are the most numerous in our galaxy.

One of NIRPS's remarkable innovations is its ability to work in tandem with HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher), a spectrograph that observes in visible light and has been operating on the same telescope since 2003. This combination allows simultaneous observation of the same star in both visible and infrared light, offering a rare ability to distinguish true planetary signals from 'noise' caused by stellar activity. NIRPS excels in the analysis of exoplanet atmospheres thanks to its infrared sensitivity, which allows identification of key chemical signatures such as water vapor, helium, or methane.

NIRPS's first results already demonstrate its scientific power. The instrument confirmed the existence of Proxima Centauri b, an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of our nearest star. It also detected evidence of a second, less massive planet around the same star. NIRPS will play a strategic role in identifying promising targets for atmospheric observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and in the search for biosignatures with the future European Extremely Large Telescope.

According to the source: Mirage News.