Gsbt

PLATO is a European Space Agency telescope set to launch in 2024. The name is an acronym for "PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars." The overall goal of the mission is to figure out under what conditions planets form and whether those conditions are favorable for life.  To do this, PLATO will seek out and investigate Earth-size exoplanets, especially planets that orbit in the habitable zone around sun-like stars. (The habitable zone is usually defined as the area around a star where there is enough energy for liquid water on a planet's surface, although habitability also depends on other factors such as star variability.) It will determine how big their radii are; verify the mass of the planets from ground-based observatories; use astroseismology or "starquakes" to learn about a star's mass, radius and age; and identify bright targets for atmospheric spectroscopy along with other telescopes. If all goes to plan, the mission should be able to provid...