Rogue planets are free-floating planets that do not orbit a star and instead travel through space. Scientists think they are outcasts from developing planetary systems and may be very numerous throught the galaxy. This illustration shows a rogue planet traveling through space.
HR 8799 is a system that harbors four super-Jupiters orbiting with periods that range from decades to centuries. This footage consists of 7 images of HR 8799 taken with the Keck Telescope over 7 years.
Jason Wang (Caltech)/Christian Marois (NRC Herzberg)
This animation shows how a planet can disappear in a star’s bright light, and how a coronagraph, such as the one that will be used on Roman, can reveal it.
The Roman surveys will search for planets toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy, which is heavily populated with stars. The higher density of stars will yield more microlensing events, including those that reveal exoplanets.
This animation illustrates the concept of gravitational microlensing. When one star in the sky appears to pass nearly in front of another, the light rays of the background source star become bent due to the warped space-time around the foreground star. This star is then a virtual magnifying glass, amplifying the brightness of the background source star, so we refer to the foreground star as the lens star. If the lens star harbors a planetary system, then those planets can also act as lenses, each one producing a short deviation in the brightness of the source. Thus we discover the presence of exoplanets, and measure its mass and separation from its star.
Kepler and other exoplanet search efforts have discovered thousands of large planets with small orbits, represented by the red and black dots on this chart. Roman will find planets with a much wider range of masses orbiting farther from their host star, shown by the blue dots.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, adapted from Penny et al. (2019)
This animation shows a planet crossing in front of, or transiting, its host star and the corresponding light curve astronomers would see. Using this technique, scientists anticipate Roman could find 100,000 new worlds.
Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA/GESTAR)
This animation illustrates two ways a gravitational microlensing event could look to an observer. At top is the way it could appear to a telescope able to resolve the features. The source star appears to move and distort as its light is warped by the closer lensing star and its planet. At bottom is a light curve showing the intensity of light from the event. As the two stars reach best alignment, the signal reaches its peak. The planet orbiting the lensing star is detectable as a brief change in brightness.
This pair of animations compare signals from two planet detection methods – microlensing (top) and transit (bottom) – for high- and low-mass planets. Microlensing signals from small planets are rare and brief, but they’re stronger than the signals from other methods.
The Roman Space Telescope will have Hubble-like angular resolution since it will orbit above Earth’s atmosphere, enabling it to separate host and source stars from microlensing events. Its wide field of view will allow the Roman Space Telescope to classify planets’ stars on an unprecedented scale, adding to our understanding of the type of systems throughout the galaxy – including those like our own.
This animation demonstrates the xallarap effect (which is parallax in reverse). As a planet moves around its host star, it exerts a tiny gravitational tug that shifts the star’s position a bit. This can pull the distant star closer and farther from a perfect alignment. Since the nearer star acts as a natural lens, it’s like the distant star’s light will be pulled slightly in and out of focus by the orbiting planet. By picking out little shudders in the starlight, astronomers will be able to infer the presence of planets.
This graphic highlights the search areas of three planet-hunting missions: the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and the retired Kepler Space Telescope. Astronomers expect Roman to discover roughly 100,000 transiting planets, worlds that periodically dim the light of their stars as they cross in front of them. While other missions, including Kepler's extended K2 survey (not pictured in this graphic), have unveiled relatively nearby planets, Roman will reveal a wealth of worlds much farther from home.
This animation zooms out from our solar system and shows how the sunlight scattered by zodiacal dust is brighter than the planets when viewed from afar. The same kind of dust in other planetary systems, called exozodiacal dust, creates a similar haze that makes it challenging to detect orbiting worlds.
This Roman simulated image is 1/140th a Roman field of view. There are so many stars at the center of our galaxy that in other telescopes’ views they may blur together, but Roman will see them with high clarity, distinguishing stars in the center bulge from those in the surrounding disk. Tracking the precise positions and colors of individual stars over time will provide insight on the star-formation processes in the Milky Way bulge, bar, and disk.
This image of the Eagle Nebula showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. In the center is Hubble's view of the Pillars of Creation - superimposed on a ground-based image. Roman’s Wide Field Instrument field of view is highlighted. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing.
The wide field image for the Eagle nebula is a combination between an image taken by NSF’s 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (Credit: T.A.Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and B.A.Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)) and an image by amateur astronomer Liam Murphy.
This image of the Eagle Nebula showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. In the center is Hubble's view of the Pillars of Creation - superimposed on a ground-based image. Roman’s Wide Field Instrument field of view is highlighted. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing. This version has labels.
The wide field image for the Eagle nebula is a combination between an image taken by NSF’s 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (Credit: T.A.Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and B.A.Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)) and an image by amateur astronomer Liam Murphy.
This video of the Eagle Nebula showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It begins with a Hubble image of the famous Pillars of Creation superimposed on a ground-based image. The view then zooms out to show the full field of view of Roman’s Wide Field Instrument. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing.
The wide field image for the Eagle nebula is a combination between an image taken by NSF’s 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (Credit: T.A.Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and B.A.Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)) and an image by amateur astronomer Liam Murphy.
This video of the Eagle Nebula showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It begins with a Hubble image of the famous Pillars of Creation superimposed on a ground-based image. The view then zooms out to show the full field of view of Roman’s Wide Field Instrument. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing. This version has labels.
The wide field image for the Eagle nebula is a combination between an image taken by NSF’s 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory (Credit: T.A.Rector (NRAO/AUI/NSF and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) and B.A.Wolpa (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)) and an image by amateur astronomer Liam Murphy.
This simulated image of a portion of the Andromeda galaxy highlights the high resolution, large field of view, and unique footprint of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
NASA,STScI, and B.F. Williams (University of Washington)
Details of a simulated image of the Andromeda galaxy highlight the high resolution of Roman imagery. Unlike a typical wide field camera, which can cover a large area of sky but cannot reveal fine details, Roman will provide both a large field of view and high resolution. The details shown here each cover about 0.0013 square degrees of sky, the equivalent to a single infrared image from Hubble’s WFC3 camera. The pixel scale is 0.11 arcseconds/pixel.
NASA,STScI, and B. F. Williams (University of Washington)
Details of a simulated image of the Andromeda galaxy highlight the high resolution of Roman imagery. Unlike a typical wide field camera, which can cover a large area of sky but cannot reveal fine details, Roman will provide both a large field of view and high resolution. The details shown here each cover about 0.0013 square degrees of sky, the equivalent to a single infrared image from Hubble’s WFC3 camera. The pixel scale is 0.11 arcseconds/pixel. This version has additional labels.
NASA,STScI, and B. F. Williams (University of Washington)
A composite figure of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) highlights the extremely large field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. This version has additional labels.
Background image: Digitized Sky Survey and R. Gendler
Moon image:NASA, GSFC, and Arizona State University
Roman simulation images :NASA,STScI, and B. F. Williams (University of Washington)
A composite figure of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) highlights the extremely large field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Inside the Roman footprint is simulated Roman data, which you can see more clearly in the three pull-outs - each one being a Hubble field-of-view.
In addition to the resolved stars in Andromeda, the insets reveal:
The top inset: star cluster and background galaxy
Middle inset: dust cloud
Bottom inset: young star cluster
Background image: Digitized Sky Survey and R. Gendler
Roman simulation images:NASA,STScI, and B. F. Williams (University of Washington)
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, will capture the equivalent of 100 high-resolution Hubble images in a single shot, imaging large areas of the sky 1,000 times faster than Hubble. In several months, the Roman Space Telescope could survey as much of the sky in near-infrared light—in just as much detail—as Hubble has over its entire three decades.
Although Roman has not yet opened its wide, keen eyes on the universe, astronomers are already running simulations to demonstrate what it will be able to see and plan their observations.
This simulated image of a portion of our neighboring galaxy Andromeda (M31) provides a preview of the vast expanse and fine detail that can be covered with just a single pointing of the Roman Space Telescope. Using information gleaned from hundreds of Hubble observations, the simulated image covers a swath roughly 34,000 light-years across, showcasing the red and infrared light of more than 50 million individual stars detectable with Roman.
Watch the video to learn more about the Roman Space Telescope's simulated image.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Music: "Flight Impressions" from Universal Production Music
The Carina Nebula is an example of a star-forming region with many stages of the stellar lifecycle captured by Hubble. There is no guarantee that Roman will be studying this same area.
This is the clean version of the image.
Background image: Nathan Smith, University of Minnesota/NOIRLab/NOAO/AURA/NSFHubble
Mosaic: Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF
Mystic Mt.: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
Eta Carina: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of Arizona), and J. Morse (BoldlyGo Institute)
Trumpler 14: NASA, ESA, and J. Maíz Apellániz (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, Spain); Acknowledgment: N. Smith (University of Arizona)
The Carina Nebula is an example of a star-forming region with many stages of the stellar lifecycle captured by Hubble. There is no guarantee that Roman will be studying this same area.
This is the annotated version of the image.
Background image: Nathan Smith, University of Minnesota/NOIRLab/NOAO/AURA/NSFHubble
Mosaic: Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF
Mystic Mt.: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
Eta Carina: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of Arizona), and J. Morse (BoldlyGo Institute)
Trumpler 14: NASA, ESA, and J. Maíz Apellániz (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, Spain); Acknowledgment: N. Smith (University of Arizona)
The Carina Nebula is an example of a star-forming region with many stages of the stellar lifecycle captured by Hubble. There is no guarantee that Roman will be studying this same area.
This is the full annotated version of the image, including title and Hubble instruments used in the pull-out Hubble images.
Background image: Nathan Smith, University of Minnesota/NOIRLab/NOAO/AURA/NSFHubble
Mosaic: Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF
Mystic Mt.: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
Eta Carina: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of Arizona), and J. Morse (BoldlyGo Institute)
Trumpler 14: NASA, ESA, and J. Maíz Apellániz (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, Spain); Acknowledgment: N. Smith (University of Arizona)
This animation depicts a brown dwarf, which range from about 4,000 to 25,000 times Earth’s mass. They’re too heavy to be characterized as planets, but not quite massive enough to undergo nuclear fusion in their cores like stars.
NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will see thousands of exploding stars called supernovae across vast stretches of time and space. Using these observations, astronomers aim to shine a light on several cosmic mysteries, providing a window onto the universe’s distant past and hazy present.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Music: "Relentless Data" from Universal Production Music
This image of galaxy cluster Abell 426 showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It highlights Hubble's view of the galaxy NGC 1275 superimposed on a ground-based image. Roman’s Wide Field Instrument field of view is highlighted. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing.
The wide field image for Abell 426 is composed of a combination of theDigitized Sky Survey and an image by Petri Kehusmaa.
This image of galaxy cluster Abell 426 showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It highlights Hubble's view of the galaxy NGC 1275 superimposed on a ground-based image. Roman’s Wide Field Instrument field of view is highlighted. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing. This version has labels.
The wide field image for Abell 426 is composed of a combination of theDigitized Sky Survey and an image by Petri Kehusmaa.
This video of galaxy cluster Abell 426 showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It begins with a Hubble image of the galaxy NGC 1275 superimposed on a ground-based image. The view then zooms out to show the full field of view of Roman’s Wide Field Instrument. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing.
The wide field image for Abell 426 is composed of a combination of theDigitized Sky Survey and an image by Petri Kehusmaa.
This video of galaxy cluster Abell 426 showcases the superb resolution and wide field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It begins with a Hubble image of the galaxy NGC 1275 superimposed on a ground-based image. The view then zooms out to show the full field of view of Roman’s Wide Field Instrument. Roman’s images will have the resolution of Hubble while covering an area about 100 times larger in a single pointing. This version has labels.
The wide field image for Abell 426 is composed of a combination of theDigitized Sky Survey and an image by Petri Kehusmaa.
Roman will find a diversity of galaxies at different stages of their evolution—galaxies in small groups and in large clusters, merging galaxies, and newborn galaxies.
By capturing both volume and detail, Roman will greatly advance knowledge about galaxies and their variety of forms, and also their evolution over the history of the universe.
This image showcases separate Hubble observations of select galaxies in the Coma Cluster, within a single Roman field of view.
This version has basic annotations.
Background Image: Digitized Sky Survey
Galaxy Images: NASA, ESA, M. Sun (University of Alabama), W. Cramer and J. Kenney (Yale University), J. Mack (STScI), and J. Madrid (Australian Telescope National Facility) and Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
Roman will find a diversity of galaxies at different stages of their evolution—galaxies in small groups and in large clusters, merging galaxies, and newborn galaxies.
By capturing both volume and detail, Roman will greatly advance knowledge about galaxies and their variety of forms, and also their evolution over the history of the universe.
This image showcases separate Hubble observations of select galaxies in the Coma Cluster, within a single Roman field of view.
This version has additional annotations.
Background Image: Digitized Sky Survey
Galaxy Images: NASA, ESA, M. Sun (University of Alabama), W. Cramer and J. Kenney (Yale University), J. Mack (STScI), and J. Madrid (Australian Telescope National Facility) and Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
This image showcases UGC 2885 (Rubin's Galaxy), with Hubble's view in inset and the Roman field of view. Roman will be able to capture the entire halo of galaxies like Rubin in a single pointing, which is about 100 times larger than a Hubble pointing.
Hubble's View of Rubin's Galaxy: NASA,ESA, and B. Holwerda (University of Louisville)
This image showcases UGC 2885 (Rubin's Galaxy), with Hubble's view in inset and the Roman field of view. Roman will be able to capture the entire halo of galaxies like Rubin in a single pointing, which is about 100 times larger than a Hubble pointing.
In this version, an estimate of the extent of the halo of Rubin's Galaxy is shown.
Hubble's View of Rubin's Galaxy: NASA,ESA, and B. Holwerda (University of Louisville)
This composite image illustrates the possibility of a Roman Space Telescope “ultra deep field” observation. In a deep field, astronomers collect light from a patch of sky for an extended period of time to reveal the faintest and most distant objects. This view centers on the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (outlined in blue), which represents the deepest portrait of the universe ever achieved by humankind, at visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. Two insets reveal stunning details of the galaxies within the field.
Beyond the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, additional observations obtained over the past two decades have filled in the surrounding space. These wider Hubble observations reveal over 265,000 galaxies, but are much shallower than the Hubble Ultra Deep field in terms of the most distant galaxies observed.
These Hubble images are overlaid on an even wider view using ground-based data from the Digitized Sky Survey. An orange outline shows the field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman’s 18 detectors will be able to observe an area of sky at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Ultra Deep Field at one time, with the same crisp sharpness as Hubble.
This composite annotated image illustrates the possibility of a Roman Space Telescope “ultra deep field” observation. In a deep field, astronomers collect light from a patch of sky for an extended period of time to reveal the faintest and most distant objects. This view centers on the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (outlined in blue), which represents the deepest portrait of the universe ever achieved by humankind, at visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. Two insets reveal stunning details of the galaxies within the field.
Beyond the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, additional observations obtained over the past two decades have filled in the surrounding space. These wider Hubble observations reveal over 265,000 galaxies, but are much shallower than the Hubble Ultra Deep field in terms of the most distant galaxies observed.
These Hubble images are overlaid on an even wider view using ground-based data from the Digitized Sky Survey. An orange outline shows the field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman’s 18 detectors will be able to observe an area of sky at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Ultra Deep Field at one time, with the same crisp sharpness as Hubble.
This zoom-out animation begins with a view of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (outlined in blue), which represents the deepest portrait of the universe ever achieved by humankind, at visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. The view then expands to show a wider Hubble survey of that area of sky (white outline), which captured about 265,000 galaxies in a large mosaic. Expanding further, we see the Hubble data overlaid on a ground-based view using data from the Digitized Sky Survey.
An orange outline shows the field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman’s 18 detectors will be able to observe an area of sky at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Ultra Deep Field at one time, with the same crisp sharpness as Hubble.
This zoom-out annotated animation begins with a view of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (outlined in blue), which represents the deepest portrait of the universe ever achieved by humankind, at visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. The view then expands to show a wider Hubble survey of that area of sky (white outline), which captured about 265,000 galaxies in a large mosaic. Expanding further, we see the Hubble data overlaid on a ground-based view using data from the Digitized Sky Survey.
An orange outline shows the field of view of NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Roman’s 18 detectors will be able to observe an area of sky at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Ultra Deep Field at one time, with the same crisp sharpness as Hubble.
(2011) Astronomers have pushed NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to its limits by finding what they believe is the most distant object ever seen in the universe. Its light traveled 13.2 billion years to reach Hubble, roughly 150 million years longer than the previous record holder. The age of the universe is 13.7 billion years.
Science:NASA,ESA, G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz), R. Bouwens (University of California, Santa Cruz, and Leiden University), and the HUDF09 Team
Visualization of simulated Roman emission-line galaxy distribution data used to measure BAO and RSD. The wedge shown covers an RA sweep of 45° with a DEC thickness of 1°, and includes more than 215,000 galaxies.
Data provided by Z. Zhai and Y. Wang, Caltech/IPAC, and A. Benson, Carnegie Observatories
Visualization of simulated Roman emission-line galaxy distribution data used to measure BAO and RSD. The wedge shown covers an RA sweep of 45° with a DEC thickness of 1°, and includes more than 215,000 galaxies of a much larger 5-million galaxy simulated galaxy catalog.
This version developed for experts in cosmology.
Data provided by Z. Zhai and Y. Wang, Caltech/IPAC, and A. Benson, Carnegie Observatories
Data Visualization: J. DePasquale and D. Player, STScI.
Visualization of simulated Roman emission-line galaxy distribution data used to measure BAO and RSD. The wedge shown covers an RA sweep of 45° with a DEC thickness of 1°, and includes more than 215,000 galaxies of a much larger 5-million galaxy simulated galaxy catalog.
This version developed for those not experts in cosmology.
Data provided by Z. Zhai and Y. Wang, Caltech/IPAC, and A. Benson, Carnegie Observatories
Data Visualization: J. DePasquale and D. Player, STScI.
This animation explains how BAOs arose in the early universe and how astronomers can study the faint imprint they made on galaxy distribution to probe dark energy’s effects over time. In the beginning, the cosmos was filled with a hot, dense fluid called plasma. Tiny variations in density excited sound waves that rippled through the fluid. When the universe was about 400,000 years old, the waves froze where they were. Slightly more galaxies formed along the ripples. These frozen ripples stretched as the universe expanded, increasing the distance between galaxies. Astronomers can study this preferred distance between galaxies in different cosmic ages to understand the expansion history of the universe.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Music: "Pulse and Glow" from Adrift in Time. Written and Produced byLars Leonhard.
Shorter, unnarrated version of the animation above.
This animation explains how BAOs arose in the early universe and how astronomers can study the faint imprint they made on galaxy distribution to probe dark energy’s effects over time. In the beginning, the cosmos was filled with a hot, dense fluid called plasma. Tiny variations in density excited sound waves that rippled through the fluid. When the universe was about 400,000 years old, the waves froze where they were. Slightly more galaxies formed along the ripples. These frozen ripples stretched as the universe expanded, increasing the distance between galaxies. Astronomers can study this preferred distance between galaxies in different cosmic ages to understand the expansion history of the universe.
The small peak near the center of the graph in this video shows how BAOs subtly influenced galaxy distribution. Today, there is a slight bump in the probability of finding galaxies about 500 million light-years away from each other. This distance shrinks as we look farther out into space, to earlier cosmic times.
This visualization shows how dark matter (blue-gray threads) provided the framework for normal matter (bright spots) to build up into large cosmic structures, like galaxies and galaxy clusters.
This video dissolves between six cubes to show the simulated distribution of galaxies at redshifts 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 1, with the corresponding cosmic ages shown. As the universe expands, the density of galaxies within each cube decreases, from more than half a million in the first cube to about 80 in the last. Each cube is about 100 million light-years across. Galaxies assembled along vast strands of gas separated by large voids, a foam-like structure echoed in the present-day universe on large cosmic scales.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy and Z. Zhai, Y. Wang (IPAC) and A. Benson (Carnegie Observatories)
These six cubes show the simulated distribution of galaxies at redshifts 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 1, with the corresponding cosmic ages shown. As the universe expands, the density of galaxies within each cube decreases, from more than half a million at top left to about 80 at lower right. Each cube is about 100 million light-years across. Galaxies assembled along vast strands of gas separated by large voids, a foam-like structure echoed in the present-day universe on large cosmic scales.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/F. Reddy and Z. Zhai, Y. Wang (IPAC) and A. Benson (Carnegie Observatories)
This graphic illustrates how cosmological redshift works and how it offers information about the universe’s evolution. The universe is expanding, and that expansion stretches light traveling through space. The more it has stretched, the greater the redshift and the greater the distance the light has traveled. As a result, we need telescopes with infrared detectors to see light from the first, most distant galaxies.
This infographic showcases the difference in data volume between the Nancy Grace Roman, Webb and Hubble space telescopes. Each day, Roman will send over 500 times more data back to Earth than Hubble.
This infographic showcases the difference in data volume between the Nancy Grace Roman and Hubble space telescopes. Each day, Roman will send over 500 times more data back to Earth than Hubble.
This infographic showcases the difference in data volume between the Nancy Grace Roman and Hubble space telescopes, using hard drives to symbolize data volume. Each day, Roman will send over 500 times more data back to Earth than Hubble. This version gives the time baseline by which these archival data are collected (30 years for Hubble, 5 years for Roman).
This infographic showcases the difference in data volume between the Nancy Grace Roman and Hubble space telescopes, using hard drives to symbolize data volume. Each day, Roman will send over 500 times more data back to Earth than Hubble. This version leaves off the time baseline by which these archival data are collected (30 years for Hubble, 5 years for Roman).
This simulated image illustrates the wide range of science enabled by Roman's extremely wide field of view and exquisite resolution. The yellow squares, which all contain background imagery simulated using data from Hubble’s Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey (CANDELS) program, outline the area Roman can capture in a single observation. A blue square shows the field of view of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 for comparison. While the CANDELS program took Hubble nearly 21 days to survey in near-infrared light, Roman’s large field of view and higher efficiency would allow it to survey the same area in less than half an hour. Top left: This view illustrates a region of the large nearby spiral galaxy M83. Top right: A hypothetical distant dwarf galaxy appears in this magnified view, demonstrating Roman’s ability to detect small, faint galaxies at large distances. Bottom left: This magnified view illustrates how Roman will be able to resolve bright stars even in the dense cores of globular star clusters. Bottom right: A zoom of the CANDELS-based background shows the density of high-redshift galaxies Roman will detect.
Benjamin Williams, David Weinberg, Anil Seth, Eric Bell, Dave Sand, Dominic Benford, and the WINGS Science Investigation Team
This simulated image illustrates the wide range of science enabled by Roman's extremely wide field of view and exquisite resolution. The purple squares, which all contain background imagery simulated using data from Hubble’s Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey (CANDELS) program, outline the area Roman can capture in a single observation. An orange square shows the field of view of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 for comparison. While the CANDELS program took Hubble nearly 21 days to survey in near-infrared light, Roman’s large field of view and higher efficiency would allow it to survey the same area in less than half an hour. Top left: This view illustrates a region of the large nearby spiral galaxy M83. Top right: A hypothetical distant dwarf galaxy appears in this magnified view, demonstrating Roman’s ability to detect small, faint galaxies at large distances. Bottom left: This magnified view illustrates how Roman will be able to resolve bright stars even in the dense cores of globular star clusters. Bottom right: A zoom of the CANDELS-based background shows the density of high-redshift galaxies Roman will detect.
Benjamin Williams, David Weinberg, Anil Seth, Eric Bell, Dave Sand, Dominic Benford, and the WINGS Science Investigation Team
This simulated image illustrates the wide range of science enabled by Roman's extremely wide field of view and exquisite resolution. The purple squares, which all contain background imagery simulated using data from Hubble’s Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey (CANDELS) program, outline the area Roman can capture in a single observation. An orange square shows the field of view of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 for comparison. While the CANDELS program took Hubble nearly 21 days to survey in near-infrared light, Roman’s large field of view and higher efficiency would allow it to survey the same area in less than half an hour. Top left: This view illustrates a region of the large nearby spiral galaxy M83. Top right: A hypothetical distant dwarf galaxy appears in this magnified view, demonstrating Roman’s ability to detect small, faint galaxies at large distances. Bottom left: This magnified view illustrates how Roman will be able to resolve bright stars even in the dense cores of globular star clusters. Bottom right: A zoom of the CANDELS-based background shows the density of high-redshift galaxies Roman will detect.
Benjamin Williams, David Weinberg, Anil Seth, Eric Bell, Dave Sand, Dominic Benford, and the WINGS Science Investigation Team
This simulated image illustrates the wide range of science enabled by Roman's extremely wide field of view and exquisite resolution. The purple squares, which all contain background imagery simulated using data from Hubble’s Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey (CANDELS) program, outline the area Roman can capture in a single observation. An orange square shows the field of view of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 for comparison. While the CANDELS program took Hubble nearly 21 days to survey in near-infrared light, Roman’s large field of view and higher efficiency would allow it to survey the same area in less than half an hour. Top left: This view illustrates a region of the large nearby spiral galaxy M83. Top right: A hypothetical distant dwarf galaxy appears in this magnified view, demonstrating Roman’s ability to detect small, faint galaxies at large distances. Bottom left: This magnified view illustrates how Roman will be able to resolve bright stars even in the dense cores of globular star clusters. Bottom right: A zoom of the CANDELS-based background shows the density of high-redshift galaxies Roman will detect.
Benjamin Williams, David Weinberg, Anil Seth, Eric Bell, Dave Sand, Dominic Benford, and the WINGS Science Investigation Team
This simulated image illustrates the wide range of science enabled by Roman's extremely wide field of view and exquisite resolution. The purple squares, which all contain background imagery simulated using data from Hubble’s Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Survey (CANDELS) program, outline the area Roman can capture in a single observation. An orange square shows the field of view of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 for comparison. While the CANDELS program took Hubble nearly 21 days to survey in near-infrared light, Roman’s large field of view and higher efficiency would allow it to survey the same area in less than half an hour. Top left: This view illustrates a region of the large nearby spiral galaxy M83. Top right: A hypothetical distant dwarf galaxy appears in this magnified view, demonstrating Roman’s ability to detect small, faint galaxies at large distances. Bottom left: This magnified view illustrates how Roman will be able to resolve bright stars even in the dense cores of globular star clusters. Bottom right: A zoom of the CANDELS-based background shows the density of high-redshift galaxies Roman will detect.
Benjamin Williams, David Weinberg, Anil Seth, Eric Bell, Dave Sand, Dominic Benford, and the WINGS Science Investigation Team
This illustration compares the relative sizes of the areas of sky covered by two surveys: Roman’s High Latitude Wide Area Survey, outlined in blue, and the largest mosaic led by Hubble, the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS), shown in red. In current plans, the Roman survey will be more than 1,000 times broader than Hubble’s. Roman will also explore more distant realms of space than most other telescopes have probed in previous efforts to study why the expansion of the universe is speeding up.
Every ten years the astronomy community evaluates the top priorities for future science and what missions can best address them – called the Decadal Review. This figure highlights the prioritized large space-based missions for previous decadal reviews. The dates listed are the launch dates for each mission.
Comparison of Hubble and expected Rubin Observatory LSST data resolution. (L) BVz color image from the Hubble CANDELS field with θ = 0.1” and r ≈ 28.5. Roman will have comparable resolution. (R) Simulated Rubin LSST image made by degrading Hubble data to Rubin resolution of θ = 0.6”. In the Rubin image, the galaxy is blended with surrounding objects. Correlating overlapping Rubin and Roman imagery would make it possible to develop machine learning algorithms to deblend Rubin imagery that does not overlap with Roman.
Clean version.
Image from B.E. Robertson, et al. 2019, Nat Rev Phys, 1, 450
Comparison of Hubble and expected Rubin Observatory LSST data resolution. (L) BVz color image from the Hubble CANDELS field with θ = 0.1” and r ≈ 28.5. Roman will have comparable resolution. (R) Simulated Rubin LSST image made by degrading Hubble data to Rubin resolution of θ = 0.6”. In the Rubin image, the galaxy is blended with surrounding objects. Correlating overlapping Rubin and Roman imagery would make it possible to develop machine learning algorithms to deblend Rubin imagery that does not overlap with Roman.
Annotated version.
Image from B.E. Robertson, et al. 2019, Nat Rev Phys, 1, 450