Proposed 'starshade' observatory could image continents on exo-solar planets

A NASA institute charged with supporting novel space concepts that push the envelope with existing technology has chosen a University of Colorado at Boulder proposal to image distant planets around other stars for a second round of funding.
The project is for an orbiting, soccer-field sized "starshade" shaped like a daisy that would funnel light from distant planets between its petals to a second spacecraft trailing 50,000 miles behind.

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<p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news7177.html">Proposed 'starshade' observatory could image continents on exo-solar planets</a></p> <p> A NASA institute charged with supporting novel space concepts that push the envelope with existing technology has chosen a University of Colorado at Boulder proposal to image distant planets around other stars for a second round of funding. <br>The project is for an orbiting, soccer-field sized "starshade" shaped like a daisy that would funnel light from distant planets between its petals to a second spacecraft trailing 50,000 miles behind.</p>