Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a small
UV space telescope to study selected
exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
s.
[''A Tiny, Inexpensive Satellite Will be Studying the Atmospheres of hot Jupiters'' 2021]
/ref>
It was launched as a rideshare on the Atlas V that launched Landsat 9
Landsat 9 is an Earth observation satellite launched on 27 September 2021 from Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Space Force Base on an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle. NASA is in charge of building, launching, and testing the satellite, while ...
on September 27, 2021.[ It should operate for at least 7 months and study 10 exoplanets.
CUTE can measure near-UV (255-330 nm) and do low resolution spectroscopy of atmospheric tracers (eg. Fe II, Mg II, Mg I, OH).][''Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE)'' ]
/ref>
The UV sensor is a 2048 x 515 pixel CCD array, with the spectrum lengthwise across the sensor.[''The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): A dedicated cubesat mission to study exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields'' Fleming et al. 2018]
/ref> The 515 pixel width provides tolerance from sensor damage.
See also
* Ultraviolet astronomy
References
External links
CUTE homepage
*
Instrument Design Overview
Ultraviolet telescopes
Space telescopes
Spacecraft launched in 2021
Exoplanet search projects
{{astrobiology-stub