Jun 18 2010
The La Silla Observatory in Chile has acquired a new robotic telescope, the TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope), that is devoted for the purpose of studying planetary systems.
The telescope has two approaches, the first approach being the characterization and detection of planets located outside our solar system. The second approach is the study of comets that orbit the Sun. The operational control room for the 60 cm telescope is situated in Liege, Belgium for the TRAPPIST project.
Michael Gillon, in charge of exoplanet studies said that the TRAPPIST is vital to astrobiology, an emerging interdisciplinary research field that aims at studying the origin as well as the distribution of life in the universe. Obvious targets for the search of life are terrestrial planets, which lie outside the solar system and are similar to the Earth. Comets are believed to have played a crucial role in life formation on our planet, according to Emmanuël Jehin, who heads the cometary part of the research.
ESO’s La Silla observatory, situated on the outskirts of Atacama Desert, is among the top astronomical sites in the world. The TRAPPIST telescope has been equipped with large and high quality cometary filters. The TRAPPIST is a lightweight robotic telescope that is fully automated and moves precisely across the sky at high speeds.
Source: http://arachnos.astro.ulg.ac.be/Sci/Trappist/