Behind the Mask: can HARMONI@ELT detect biosignatures in the reflected light of Proxima b?
The episode discusses a study using HARMONI@ELT to determine if current instrumentation can detect biosignatures in Proxima b's reflected light. Hosts discuss operational bottlenecks like detector persistence limiting observation time to about two hours per night, the variability of required integration time due to orbital mechanics, and how these constraints force a shift from long observations to highly managed, segmented campaigns.