THE EDISON-INFRARED-SPACE-OBSERVATORY AND THE STUDY OF EXTRA-SOLAR PLANETARY MATERIAL

Edison is a proposed large-aperture, radiatively-cooled space observat ory planned to operate at wavelengths between 2 and 130 mum or longer. Current estimates for the telescope allow an aperture of 1.7 m which will achieve a final equilibrium temperature of about 30 K, although u se of cryocoolers may permit temperatures below 20 K. Edison will be a powerful tool to investigate our Solar System, as well as planetary m aterial around distant stars. At near- and mid-infrared wavelengths, w here planetary material emits most of its radiation, Edison will be th e most sensitive photometric and spectroscopic observatory under curre nt consideration by the space agencies. With its large aperture, Ediso n will be able both to resolve the structure in nearby circumstellar ' 'Vega disks'' and to discriminate faint IR emission in the crowded env ironment of the galactic plane. With its long lifetime, Edison will al low extensive follow-up observations and increase the likelihood of ca tching transient events. We propose Edison as a precursor to elements of a future space-based IR interferometer.