Blog from August, 2024
CCS Virtual Town Halls Recordings and Slides Now Online
The CCS Virtual Town Halls kicked off this week and have been a great success. Unlike HST and JWST, where observations are driven by proposals each cycle, the CCS must be planned and scheduled prior to launch. These town halls provide an opportunity for the science community to weigh in on the process before the surveys are finalized by the definition committees. We encourage all interested parties to submit feedback via a short 5-10 minute survey.
All Recordings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrSOpiiKFz8rQlaxk_US8STw_p4up1Ozy
Feedback Form: https://forms.gle/4UogRf4KS2RkADHY7
Slides:
If you missed the first round of talks, the recordings and slides are now available online. You will also have a second opportunity to see live talks next week (see schedule below).
Virtual Town Halls for Roman’s Core Community Surveys Continue This Week
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will devote a majority of the first five years of the mission to surveys that are being defined by the science community. This includes Roman’s Core Community Surveys (CCSs), which serve to meet Roman’s mission-level science requirements for investigating the nature of dark energy and the fate of the universe, and the demographics of exoplanets. The CCSs consist of the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey (GBTDS), High Latitude Time-Domain Survey (HLTDS), and High Latitude Wide Area Survey (HLWAS). The primary goal for the definition of each of the CCSs is to maximize the science performed with Roman’s infrared surveys.
To define the details of each survey (e.g., field selection, filter selection and depth, observation cadence, etc), a definition committee has been formed for each of the three CCSs comprised of members of the community. The committee membership was selected to ensure that the breadth of interests of the scientific community in using Roman’s CCSs was well represented. The committees have been charged with assessing community input, investigating various observational strategies to maximize the science return of the surveys, and producing a recommendation for multiple survey options (such as a minimal, nominal, and optimal survey definition). The committees are expected to deliver a report summarizing the recommended survey options, including a discussion of the scientific tradeoffs, the time required, and the observational constraints of each option to the Roman Project at NASA Goddard by November 1, 2024 for dissemination to the Roman Observations Time Allocation Committee (ROTAC). The ROTAC will review the input of the committees and make a recommendation to the Roman Project by January 2025 on the implementation of the surveys and the amount of time to be dedicated to each survey.
The CCS definition committees would like to have community feedback and input on the survey options and strategies they are considering. Each CCS committee will hold two virtual town halls spread over two weeks, in late August / early September, to give a progress report and hear from the community. There will also be an opportunity for online feedback submission. The times of the town halls aim at maximizing attendance over different time zones.
Dial-in Info:
Webex link: https://nasaenterprise.webex.com/nasaenterprise/j.php?MTID=mc21600f4a19d761d3ccebeac0b77ec67
Meeting number (access code): 2821 833 2150
Meeting password: sBVgvmR@337 (72848671 when dialing from a phone or video system)
Schedule:
Tue Sep 3
-7pm EDT: HLTDS - Masao Sako
Wed Sep 4
-10am EDT: GBTDS - Jessie Christiansen
Thur Sep 5
-10am EDT: HLWAS - Ryan Hickox
If you have any questions, please email help@stsci.edu with the subject title “Question about Roman CCS Town Halls."
We look forward to having you join us in the coming weeks.
On behalf of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope’s Project Scientist Team at NASA Goddard’s Project Science Office (PSO), the Science Support Center (SSC) at IPAC, and the Science Operations Center (SOC) at STScI.
Planned Call for White Papers and a Workshop for Roman-Subaru Synergistic Observations
There is a planned call for White Papers (due January 31, 2025) and a workshop (December 16-18 in Tokyo) in support of defining a plan for 100 nights of Roman-Subaru Synergistic Observations.
More details about thew call for White Papers and the workshop can be found here: ir.isas.jaxa.jp/Roman_VI/Roman-Subaru_announcement_202408.htm
A web page for the workshop is here: Roman-Subaru VI (jaxa.jp)
Roman Public Lecture: NASA's Next Big Thing: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Speaker: Ori Fox
Date: Tuesday, Sep 03, 2024 at 8pm
NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is readying for launch in late 2026. Roman will be able to survey the sky 1,000 times faster than Hubble. It will collect near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic data with Hubble-quality resolution and sensitivity over fields of view 200 times greater than Hubble. Roman's data will enrich all areas of astrophysics by enabling studies of nearly every class of astronomical object, phenomenon, and environment across the observable universe. Dr. Fox will discuss the details of the Roman mission, with a focus on its scientific goals. These exciting studies include the discovery of thousands of new planets and pinpointing the source of a mysterious force called dark energy that permeates our universe.
Join the live webcast: https://youtube.com/live/NtWl9a6NQMw?feature=share
The recorded webcast will be available online the following day.
Stay Connected and Up To Date
Excited about all the progress with Roman? Want to stay in the know? Now is the time to join the Roman community.
If you are already part of the Roman community, please consider importing our calendar to stay up to date, joining one of the new working groups, and contributing to Roman participation in AAS.
Virtual Town Halls for Roman’s Core Community Surveys Begin Aug 26
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will devote a majority of the first five years of the mission to surveys that are being defined by the science community. This includes Roman’s Core Community Surveys (CCSs), which serve to meet Roman’s mission-level science requirements for investigating the nature of dark energy and the fate of the universe, and the demographics of exoplanets. The CCSs consist of the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey (GBTDS), High Latitude Time-Domain Survey (HLTDS), and High Latitude Wide Area Survey (HLWAS). The primary goal for the definition of each of the CCSs is to maximize the science performed with Roman’s infrared surveys.
To define the details of each survey (e.g., field selection, filter selection and depth, observation cadence, etc), a definition committee has been formed for each of the three CCSs comprised of members of the community. The committee membership was selected to ensure that the breadth of interests of the scientific community in using Roman’s CCSs was well represented. The committees have been charged with assessing community input, investigating various observational strategies to maximize the science return of the surveys, and producing a recommendation for multiple survey options (such as a minimal, nominal, and optimal survey definition). The committees are expected to deliver a report summarizing the recommended survey options, including a discussion of the scientific tradeoffs, the time required, and the observational constraints of each option to the Roman Project at NASA Goddard by November 1, 2024 for dissemination to the Roman Observations Time Allocation Committee (ROTAC). The ROTAC will review the input of the committees and make a recommendation to the Roman Project by January 2025 on the implementation of the surveys and the amount of time to be dedicated to each survey.
The CCS definition committees would like to have community feedback and input on the survey options and strategies they are considering. Each CCS committee will hold two virtual town halls spread over two weeks, in late August / early September, to give a progress report and hear from the community. There will also be an opportunity for online feedback submission. The times of the town halls aim at maximizing attendance over different time zones.
Dial-in Info:
Webex link: https://nasaenterprise.webex.com/nasaenterprise/j.php?MTID=mc21600f4a19d761d3ccebeac0b77ec67
Meeting number (access code): 2821 833 2150
Meeting password: sBVgvmR@337 (72848671 when dialing from a phone or video system)
Schedule:
Mon Aug 26
-7pm EDT: GBTDS - Daniel Huber
Wed Aug 28
-10am EDT: HLTDS - Brad Cenko
Thu Aug 29
-7pm EDT: HLWAS - Ryan Hickox
Tue Sep 3
-7pm EDT: HLTDS - Masao Sako
Wed Sep 4
-10am EDT: GBTDS - Jessie Christiansen
Thur Sep 5
-10am EDT: HLWAS - Ryan Hickox
If you have any questions, please email help@stsci.edu with the subject title “Question about Roman CCS Town Halls."
We look forward to having you join us in the coming weeks.
On behalf of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope’s Project Scientist Team at NASA Goddard’s Project Science Office (PSO), the Science Support Center (SSC) at IPAC, and the Science Operations Center (SOC) at STScI.
Roman's Next Community Forum Aug 28
Announced from Goddard:
Hi Roman Space Telescope Enthusiasts,
We have out next community forum planned for next Wednesday (8/28) at 4pm eastern time. This month we are focusing on the Wide Field Instrument. WFI arrived at Goddard a couple of weeks ago having completed all instrument-level testing and is moving on toward payload integration.
We will have a detailed update on the testing that was performed on the instrument, and the data that was collected. Additionally, we will have a presentation from the Calibration Working Group.
Detailed discussions and analysis of the data collected from the Wide Field Instrument during the ground test campaigns occur at the weekly Calibration Working Group meeting. To signup to join this and the other working groups use this link.
Slides from previous forums are posted to the forum website.
Below is the WebEx information for this meeting. We hope to see you there.
https://nasaenterprise.webex.com/nasaenterprise/j.php?MTID=mbdb9e0e552be33ff67ae0979fdfc7ae5
New Pictures of Roman's Wide Field Instrument
New pictures are now posted of Roman's WFI in Goddard's clean room!
Primary Instrument for Roman Space Telescope Arrives at NASA Goddard
The primary instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a sophisticated camera that will survey the cosmos from the outskirts of our solar system all the way out to the edge of the observable universe. Called the Wide Field Instrument, it was recently delivered to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Send Roman to SXSW
Send Roman to SXSW!
Please vote for the Roman SXSW panel, “What, Like Space is Hard? Pioneering Women at NASA,” where you can learn about and be inspired by some of NASA’s trailblazing women.
Vote here before Aug. 18: https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/151719
Roman Science Conference Recording Now Online
Recently announced by the SSC:
The recording to the conference “Challenging Theory with Roman: From Planet Formation to Cosmology”! is available here on our YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL460A0YI_JsD4hgLTgjNFlk11vWiQeswD
Also, the conference photo has been posted on our website. The presentation slides will be made available there, too, when they are ready.
https://conference.ipac.caltech.edu/roman2024/
The Roman Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) has successfully passed Pre-Ship Review!
From a recent email from:
Julie McEnery, Roman Senior Project Scientist
Josh Schlieder, Roman WFI Scientist
The complete instrument is now ready to ship from BAE Systems in Boulder, CO back to NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, MD for payload integration. The instrument will arrive in Maryland next week. The review panel had very positive feedback regarding the technical excellence of the WFI team, their engagement with science stakeholders, the partnership between Goddard and BAE, and the detail and clarity of the presentations during the review.
We look forward to WFI arriving at Goddard and moving on to payload integration. We are also excited to continue working with all of you on the ground breaking science enabled by the WFI!
Update: The WFI arrived on Wednesday! Picture of arrival below.
Roman Virtual Lecture
Thursday August 15 from 1-1:30 PM PT / 4-4:30 PM ET.
Title: Modeling and performance analysis of iEFC for the Roman/CGI SPC mode
Speaker: Kian Milani (U. Arizona)
High-order wavefront sensing and control (HOWFSC) is key to creating a dark hole region within the coronagraphic image plane where high contrasts are achieved. The Roman Coronagraph is expected to perform its HOWFSC with a ground-in-the-loop scheme due to the computational complexity of the electric field conjugation (EFC) algorithm. The baseline HOWFSC scheme involves running EFC while observing a bright star such as ζ Puppis to create the initial dark hole followed by a slew to the science target. The implicit EFC (iEFC) algorithm is a new variant of EFC that removes the optical model from the controller, making the final contrast independent of model accuracy. First, an overview of EFC and iEFC is provided along with a demonstration of iEFC applied to a vortex coronagraph with a single DM. Similar to EFC, the iEFC method is extended to two deformable mirror systems to create annular dark holes and applied to the wide-field-of-view shaped pupil coronagraph (SPC-WFOV) mode using end-to-end physical optics models. These simulations demonstrate that iEFC can be a feasible method for the SPC-WFOV mode as 1E-8 contrasts are achieved. Given iEFC is model-independent, it can also help mitigate any risks associated with calibrating a model while Roman is in orbit.
Dial in Info
Microsoft Teams
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 249 192 561 904
Passcode: zMHRLq
