Science & Tech · Space · 2 hrs ago
New method improves Webb's view of faint exoplanets
A team led by Northwestern University's Rodrigo Ferrer-Chavez developed a way to reduce starlight in telescope images.
The method, called FLIP, combines a model of how light passes through a telescope with machine-learning optimization techniques.
It was tested on James Webb Space Telescope observations from its NIRCam instrument.
A star's glare can overwhelm the faint light of an orbiting planet, and tiny changes in telescope optics can leave enough glare to hide it.
FLIP revealed the known giant planet 51 Eridani b at an infrared wavelength where conventional processing had failed.
Tests found sensitivity improvements of two to 15 times compared with conventional techniques.
Researchers plan to reduce the method's computing demands and test it on larger data sets, with the longer-term aim of improving images of Earth-like planets.
Researchers led by Northwestern University's Rodrigo Ferrer-Chavez developed a method that improves the detection of faint exoplanets in telescope images.
The method, called Physics-based Learning for Imaging Planets (FLIP), combines a physics-based telescope model with machine-learning optimization techniques.
Applied to James Webb Space Telescope observations, FLIP produced the first image of the known giant planet 51 Eridani b at an infrared wavelength of 4.3 micrometers.
Tests found that FLIP improved sensitivity by two to 15 times compared with conventional techniques.
The researchers say further development could help direct imaging of Earth-like planets.
- Who
- A research team led by Northwestern University's Rodrigo Ferrer-Chavez.
- What
- The team developed FLIP, a method to subtract starlight and improve the detection of faint exoplanets.
- When
- The articles were published on 4 November 2026.
- Where
- The method was applied to James Webb Space Telescope observations from its Near-Infrared Camera.
- Why
- Host stars' glare can overwhelm the faint light from exoplanets, making them difficult to image directly.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Method
- Physics-based Learning for Imaging Planets (FLIP)
- Team lead
- Rodrigo Ferrer-Chavez of Northwestern University
- Telescope
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Instrument
- Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
- Planet imaged
- 51 Eridani b
- Sensitivity improvement
- Two to 15 times over conventional techniques
3 sources
What people are saying
This is the first time, to our knowledge, that such an approach has demonstrated substantially improved sensitivity on real, on-sky coronagraphic imaging.