The Lyot Project

The Lyot Project, involving scientists from around the United States with varied backgrounds, is an attempt to build an instrument that can remove more of the starlight from images of nearby solar systems than has ever before been possible. We intend to map regions comparable to the size of our own solar system around the nearest and brightest stars. Our work will also help to understand and break the barrier that has prevented the direct imaging of planets in orbit about other stars. We also hope to see nascent planetary systems, which may reveal precious clues about how planets and solar systems form.