Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie
Encyclopedia
Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie (born 12 May 1943) is a French
astronomer
and holds since 1991 the "Observational Astrophysics
" chair at the Collège de France
.
Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie graduated from the "grande école" SupOptique (École supérieure d'optique). He invented speckle interferometry
, and works with astronomical interferometer
s. Labeyrie concentrated particularly on the use of "diluted optics" beam combination or "densified pupils" of a similar type but larger scale than those Michelson
used for measuring the diameters of stars in the 1920s, in contrast to other astronomical interferometer
researchers who generally switched to pupil-plane beam combination in the 1980s and 1990s.
He is currently working on what he calls a "Hypertelescope", an extremely large astronomical interferometer
with spherical geometry that might theoretically show features on Earth-like worlds around other suns. This "Hypertelescope" project would be much more complex (and expensive) than the Darwin Mission and Terrestrial Planet Finder
interferometer missions, and would involve many large free-flying spacecraft seen as parts of a fractionated spacecraft
or a satellite constellation
, utilizing a densified pupil beam combiner. Instead of delay lines, a Mertz corrector would be used to compensate the optical path differences between the mirrors in the array (requiring the individual telescopes to be positioned to a fraction of a wavelength).
The main-belt
asteroid
8788 Labeyrie
(1978 VP2) is named in honor of Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie and Catherine Labeyrie.
He was awarded the The Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2000.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
and holds since 1991 the "Observational Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
" chair at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
.
Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie graduated from the "grande école" SupOptique (École supérieure d'optique). He invented speckle interferometry
Speckle imaging
Speckle imaging describes a range of high-resolution astronomical imaging techniques based either on the shift-and-add method or on speckle interferometry methods...
, and works with astronomical interferometer
Astronomical interferometer
An astronomical interferometer is an array of telescopes or mirror segments acting together to probe structures with higher resolution by means of interferometry....
s. Labeyrie concentrated particularly on the use of "diluted optics" beam combination or "densified pupils" of a similar type but larger scale than those Michelson
Albert Abraham Michelson
Albert Abraham Michelson was an American physicist known for his work on the measurement of the speed of light and especially for the Michelson-Morley experiment. In 1907 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics...
used for measuring the diameters of stars in the 1920s, in contrast to other astronomical interferometer
Astronomical interferometer
An astronomical interferometer is an array of telescopes or mirror segments acting together to probe structures with higher resolution by means of interferometry....
researchers who generally switched to pupil-plane beam combination in the 1980s and 1990s.
He is currently working on what he calls a "Hypertelescope", an extremely large astronomical interferometer
Astronomical interferometer
An astronomical interferometer is an array of telescopes or mirror segments acting together to probe structures with higher resolution by means of interferometry....
with spherical geometry that might theoretically show features on Earth-like worlds around other suns. This "Hypertelescope" project would be much more complex (and expensive) than the Darwin Mission and Terrestrial Planet Finder
Terrestrial Planet Finder
The Terrestrial Planet Finder was a proposed project by NASA to construct a system of telescopes for detecting extrasolar terrestrial planets. TPF was postponed several times and finally cancelled...
interferometer missions, and would involve many large free-flying spacecraft seen as parts of a fractionated spacecraft
Fractionated Spacecraft
A fractionated spacecraft is a satellite architecture where the functional capabilities of a conventional monolithic spacecraft are distributed across multiple modules which interact through wireless links...
or a satellite constellation
Satellite constellation
A group of artificial satellites working in concert is known as a satellite constellation. Such a constellation can be considered to be a number of satellites with coordinated ground coverage, operating together under shared control, synchronised so that they overlap well in coverage and...
, utilizing a densified pupil beam combiner. Instead of delay lines, a Mertz corrector would be used to compensate the optical path differences between the mirrors in the array (requiring the individual telescopes to be positioned to a fraction of a wavelength).
- "Sitting on Labeyrie's drawing board are plans for a hypertelescope, a new breed of space telescope that is capable of mapping distant cousins of Earth in exquisite detail... Malcolm FridlundMalcolm FridlundMalcolm C. V. Fridlund, born 1952, is a Swedish astronomer. He wrote his doctoral thesis 1987 in astronomy at Stockholm University and works since 1988 on ESA in Noordwijk in the Netherlands as scientific project manager. Since 1996 Malcolm Fridlund is the scientific manager of the Darwin project...
, project scientist for ESA's Darwin mission in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is pragmatic. 'The costs would be really prohibitive,' he points out." (The hypertelescope: a zoom with a view. New Scientist, 23 February 2006)
The main-belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
8788 Labeyrie
8788 Labeyrie
8788 Labeyrie is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 1, 1978 by K. Tomita at Caussols. It is named in honor of the French astronomers Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie and Catherine Labeyrie.- External links :*...
(1978 VP2) is named in honor of Antoine Émile Henry Labeyrie and Catherine Labeyrie.
He was awarded the The Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2000.
See also
- Speckle imagingSpeckle imagingSpeckle imaging describes a range of high-resolution astronomical imaging techniques based either on the shift-and-add method or on speckle interferometry methods...
- Exoplanets
- Fractionated spacecraftFractionated SpacecraftA fractionated spacecraft is a satellite architecture where the functional capabilities of a conventional monolithic spacecraft are distributed across multiple modules which interact through wireless links...
- Satellite constellationSatellite constellationA group of artificial satellites working in concert is known as a satellite constellation. Such a constellation can be considered to be a number of satellites with coordinated ground coverage, operating together under shared control, synchronised so that they overlap well in coverage and...