A groundbreaking instrument is set to transform how astronomers detect and directly image planets orbiting distant stars by using liquid crystal technology. Known as the Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the DAG telescope (PLACID), the device was installed earlier this year on the new 4-meter Eastern Anatolian Observatory (DAG) telescope in eastern Turkey. Now entering integration and validation, PLACID is expected to capture its first on-sky data in early 2026.

Developed by researchers at the University of Bern and the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland in Yverdon (HEIG-VD), PLACID will join a select group of high-contrast imaging systems in the northern hemisphere. Its innovative approach and upcoming science capabilities were presented at the E

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