Extrasolar planet observatory on the far side of the moon

Abstract

We define the simplest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to determine the optimal wavelength interval for extrasolar planet detection. We expand the width of the spectral region from infrared up to submillimeter range. For a nearby solar system similar to our own, we find that the SNR increases by about 100 in comparison to that considered previously. We propose the planet detection in a spectral interval around 0.3 mm (900 GHz), in which we evaluate the SNR to be 10-4. We perform trade-off analysis for alternative sites for the planet observatory, concluding that the far side of the moon offers a most favorable, atmosphere-free environment and a stable base.