# Boffins use machine-learning tricks to create a starlight dimmer switch

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/boffins-use-machine-learning-tricks-to-create-a-starlight-dimmer-switch/
- Published: 2026-11-04T18:03:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T18:13:19+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/11/04/boffins-use-machine-learning-tricks-to-create-a-starlight-dimmer-switch/5307625
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- FLIP removes starlight to reveal faint exoplanets.
- Tests improved sensitivity by up to 15 times.
- The method imaged 51 Eridani b at 4.3 micrometres.

## Summary

Scientists have developed a method that removes a star’s glare from telescope images, making faint exoplanets easier to detect. Tested on James Webb Space Telescope data, the approach revealed a known planet in an image where conventional processing had failed, and could help improve the search for planets around other stars.

The framework, called Physics-based Learning for Imaging Planets (FLIP), combines a model of how light travels through a telescope with machine-learning optimisation to account for small optical imperfections. In tests, it improved sensitivity by between two and 15 times; it also produced the first image of 51 Eridani b at an infrared wavelength of 4.3 micrometres. The researchers say further work must reduce computing demands and handle larger ground-based datasets.

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