Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2018

EXOPLANETS 39 A strategic instrument has become operative in the search for Earth-like plan- ets orbiting red dwarf stars located at relatively short distances from us. Its name is ExTrA. From the ground, it will be able to discover planets as small as other telescopes can detect from space, and it will help to compile a list of astrobiologically inter- esting atmospheres to be investigated thoroughly using the super telescopes already in an advanced phase of construction. MARCH-APRIL 2018 A sign of the great vitality of astronomical research is the number of new instruments that recently became operational. The latest one to have produced its ‘first light’ is called ExTrA, an acronym for Exoplanets in Transit and their Atmo- spheres that leaves no doubt about its mission. This instrument, designed by French researchers from the Université Grenoble Alpes and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and funded by the European Research Council and the Agence National de la Recherche, is composed