Rectangular Revolution: How a Radical Telescope Design Could Outperform Webb in the Hunt for Earth 2.0
A groundbreaking proposal suggests a rectangular space telescope—dubbed DICER—could efficiently image Earth-like exoplanets by optimizing light collection along a single axis. This unconventional design promises to survey 30 potentially habitable worlds within 30 light-years in under three years, solving key engineering and cost barriers of traditional circular mirrors or interferometers.