Richard M. Scott | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Science from the In Situ Exploration of the Proxima Centauri System

In the future interstellar exploration at near-relativistic speeds will be possible using beamed energy laser propulsion. With this, spacecraft as small as gm mass picospacecraft become candidates for the exploration of deep space, with a trade space of velocity and mission duration versus mass. Here, we examine the potential science return from interstellar expeditions with Coracle laser-sail picospacecraft swarms and show how even with fast flybys at near relativistic velocities, a picospacecraft swarm could deliver gigapixel resolution of the target exoplanets. Our mission target is the planet Proxima b in the habitable zone (HZ) of the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, the tertiary (and nearest) component of the nearest star system, α Centauri. We explore science returns from such an expedition, both en route to Proxima and at the Proxima system, and conclude that initial small spacecraft expeditions would provide a substantial science return, including the ability to detect surface biology or a technological civilization, should either or both be established on the target planet.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Intensity Interferometer Results on Sirius with 0.25 m Telescopes

We present the successful measurement of the squared visibility of Sirius at a telescope separation of 3.3 m using small 0.25 m Newtonian-style telescopes in an urban backyard setting. The primary science goal for small-scale intensity interferometers has been to measure the angular diameters of stars. Recent advances in low jitter time-tagging equipment and Single Photon Avalanche Detectors have made the detection of second-order photon correlation signals feasible with small low-cost telescopes. Using Sirius as a target star, we observe a photon count rate of $\sim$1.9 Mcps per detector with matched 1.2 nm wide filters at 589.3 nm and measured the spatial squared visibility at a telescope separation of 3.3 m to be $|V_{12}(3.3\text{m})|^2 = 0.94\pm0.16$. The measured detection significance is $\sim7 σ$ after 13.55 h of integration. The uncertainty in the measured visibility includes uncertainty in the instrument response function.The squared visibility agrees closely with the expected value of $0.94\pm0.01$. These results demonstrate that using small low-cost telescopes is feasible for intensity interferometry of bright stars. This enables a simple scaling in sensitivity by further realistic improvements in the instrument response jitter as well as increasing both the number of spectral bands and the number of telescopes towards systems capable of resolving objects such as quasars, white dwarfs, and galactic Cepheid variable stars.

astro-ph.IM↗