The dome of ESO's 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla

The silvery dome that houses the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile glows in the low sunlight. From here, astronomers are hunting for a new planet. The telescope is being used to search for evidence of a planet around the nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri. Mounted on the telescope is the HARPS instrument, which will analyse the light from the star for the tell-tale signature of an accompanying planet. This is the Pale Red Dot campaign, a unique project that gives the public unprecedented insight into how astronomers actually hunt for new celestial objects.

Pale Red Dot is an international search for an Earth-like exoplanet around the closest star to us, Proxima Centauri. It will use HARPS, attached to the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla Observatory, as well as the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) and the Burst Optical Observer and Transient Exploring System (BOOTES). The public will see how teams of astronomers with different specialities work together to collect, analyse and interpret data, which may or may not be able to confirm the presence of an Earth-like planet orbiting our nearest neighbour. The outreach campaign consists of blog posts and social media updates on the Pale Red Dot Twitter account and using the hashtag #PaleRedDot. For more information visit the Pale Red Dot website: http://www.palereddot.org