Dr. Prashant Pathak

In the study of exoplanets, direct imaging plays a crucial role in determining their habitability, atmospheric composition, and temperature. However, achieving direct imaging of exoplanets is challenging due to the required high-contrast at small separations. The field of high-contrast imaging (HCI) has made significant progress in recent years through the development of new techniques and technologies, which have enhanced our ability to detect and study faint astronomical objects. In this talk, I will discuss the advanced techniques used in HCI, including adaptive optics, coronagraphy, and angular differential imaging. Additionally, I will present the latest developments in HCI, such as the closed-loop correction of atmospheric dispersion and active wavefront control techniques. I will also present METIS (mid-infrared imager and spectrograph) instrument, which is the first-generation Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) instrument with exceptional HCI capabilities. I will delve into different error budget studies behind its final design and performance.