MADISON COUNTY, Ill. — The “Landolt NASA Space Mission” will launch a tiny satellite mimicking a star into space named after an astronomer from the Metro East.
According to George Mason University, the $19.5 million project will allow scientists to more accurately measure the brightness of stars nearby and in far-off galaxies.
The mission was named after the late Arlo Landolt, an astronomer from Highland, Illinois, who was known for his work in photometry, or measuring the brightness of stars.
He is most famously known by astronomers and physicists for the creation of his star catalog, which is among the most utilized photometry standards guides worldwide. Landolt passed in 2022; he was 86 years old.
The mission will launch a light source into the sky come 2029 and will be observed among real stars to message their brightness.