Shape accuracy requirements on starshades for large and small apertures

Stuart B. Shaklan; Luis Marchen; Eric Cady

doi:10.1117/12.2273436

1 September 2017 Shape accuracy requirements on starshades for large and small apertures

Stuart B. Shaklan, Luis Marchen, Eric Cady

Proceedings Volume 10400, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VIII; 104001T (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273436
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2017, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Starshades have been designed to work with large and small telescopes alike. With smaller telescopes, the targets tend to be brighter and closer to the Solar System, and their putative planetary systems span angles that require starshades with radii of 10-30 m at distances of 10s of Mm. With larger apertures, the light-collecting power enables studies of more numerous, fainter systems, requiring larger, more distant starshades with radii >50 m at distances of 100s of Mm. Characterization using infrared wavelengths requires even larger starshades. A mitigating approach is to observe planets between the petals, where one can observe regions closer to the star but with reduced throughput and increased instrument scatter. We compare the starshade shape requirements, including petal shape, petal positioning, and other key terms, for the WFIRST 26m starshade and the HABEX 72 m starshade concepts, over a range of working angles and telescope sizes. We also compare starshades having rippled and smooth edges and show that their performance is nearly identical.

Citation Download Citation

Stuart B. Shaklan, Luis Marchen, and Eric Cady "Shape accuracy requirements on starshades for large and small apertures", Proc. SPIE 10400, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VIII, 104001T (1 September 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2273436

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