Lyot

Planet hunters have been trying for years to find and classify other solar systems, specifically those which might contain Earth-like planets. Many planets have actually been found using various techniques, but these are Jupiter-size planets. One technique is to measure the change in a star's position as a massive body orbits around it. The star will orbit around its center of mass at a radius dependent on the planet's mass, which translates to a few arcseconds on our telescopes. Another technique is to measure the decrease in flux from the star's light as a planet passes in front of it.
Obviously these methods are limited and provide only somewhat accurate data on very large planets on rare occasions.
A new instrument, Lyot, which is to be installed on the Palomar 200" telescope near LA and San Diego will use a different technique. Using a breadboard of variable mirrors and a lot of other fancy toys, Lyot will be able to block out a star's light down to about 1.5%. This significant decrease in flux will allow astronomers to measure the light from planets down to Earth-sized planets from Palomar by blocking out other light, similar to shielding your eyes when looking at something near the sun.