Extra Zodiacal Explorer

An extra zodiacal explorer (EZE) is a type of astronomical observatory designed to study objects beyond the solar system, including extrasolar planets, comets, and asteroids. EZEs are equipped with powerful telescopes and instrumentation to enable them to make detailed observations of these distant objects.

The first EZE was built in the early 1990s at the Haute-Provence Observatory in France. Since then, several other EZEs have been constructed around the world, including ones in Chile, Spain, and Australia.

EZEs have made many important discoveries over the years. In 1995, for example, an EZE located a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun. This discovery helped confirm that planets like our own are common throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

In recent years, EZEs have also been used to study comets and asteroids up close. In 2014, for instance, an EZE observed the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it made its closest approach to Earth. These types of studies are important for understanding the formation and evolution of our Solar System.

Looking ahead, astronomers hope to use EZEs to directly image extrasolar planets orbiting other stars. This will be a challenging feat but could provide invaluable information about these distant worlds.