Cool Stars 14 - Submitted Abstract # 405
This version created on 1 November 2006

New Worlds Observer: Optical Simulation


Tiffany Glassman, Northrop Grumman Space Technology
Amy Lo, Northrop Grumman Space Technology

New Worlds Observer is an external occulter concept designed to
detect optical  wavelength light from Earth-like planets around
solar neighborhood stars. The  telescope spacecraft operates in
the "shadow" cast by the occulter spacecraft,  which suppresses
the central starlight by a factor of greater than 1010. The 
geometric and optical characteristics of this shadow are
described here with  respect to the occulter size, occulter
shape, and telescope to occulter  separation. Imaging of the
exo-planet is discussed, and the effective point  spread
function of the occulter is given, with a discussion on the
expected  exo-planet throughput. We also give a brief discussion
of the spectroscopy that  might be done with the occulter,
including possible instrument configurations  and the expected
spectroscopic signal to noise as a function of integration 
time, for various absorption lines of interest. 

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