Direct Imaging

Photographing exoplanets directly by blocking the overwhelming light of their host star.

Direct imaging captures actual photographs of exoplanets by using coronagraphs or starshades to block the host star's light, which can be billions of times brighter than the planet. This technique works best for young, massive planets in wide orbits far from their star, where the contrast ratio is most favorable. Advanced adaptive optics and space-based telescopes are pushing this method's capabilities to detect smaller, cooler planets. Direct imaging is uniquely valuable because it allows astronomers to study a planet's atmosphere by analyzing the light it reflects or emits.