AST Colloquium: Roman Space Telescope
Roman Space Telescope: Transforming Our Understanding of Cosmology and take Steps toward the Search for Life
Dr. David Spergel
Director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics
Flatiron Institute
The Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s next big project beyond JWST, will have the resolution of the Hubble Telescope and more than 100x its Field of View.
Abstract:
The Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s next big project beyond JWST, will have the resolution of the Hubble Telescope and more than 100x its Field of View. This powerful telescope will be able to survey the entire sky at optical and infrared wavelengths. Launching in the mid-decade towards the Earth-Sun L2 point, the Roman Telescope has the potential to reveal novel insights about the nature of dark energy and dark matter, the dominant components of our universe. The telescope will also complete our survey of the demographics of exoplanets begun by the Kepler telescope by discovering exoplanets from the orbit of Earth to Neptune. Its coronagraph, which should be far more sensitive than any deployed before, will be an important step towards developing the technologies needed to image Earth-like planets around nearby stars.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. David Spergel is the Director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute and Charles Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. Spergel’s research ranges from the study of the early universe to the search for extrasolar planets. He played a leading role in NASA’s WMAP mission and his work in cosmology has been highly influential. Spergel serves as co-chair of the Roman Space Telescope Formulation Science Working Group.
Intended Audience:
All are welcome. Those with interest in the topic.
To request an interpreter, please visit myaccess.rit.edu
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No