Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Science & Technology)
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Science & Technology)
Why In News:
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to advance the study of dark energy, dark matter and exoplanets through wide-field observations of the universe.
Mission & Key Features
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Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman Space Telescope) is a NASA space observatory named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, a pioneering NASA astronomer who played a major role in developing the agency’s space astronomy programme and is often called the “Mother of Hubble.”
Roman is designed for wide-field astronomical surveys, with a field of view about 100 times larger than Hubble’s, while providing comparable image sharpness.
Its main instrument, the Wide Field Instrument (WFI), is designed for wide-area imaging and spectroscopy, enabling surveys of large portions of the sky.
The Coronagraph Instrument uses a system of masks and optics to suppress the intense light from a star, allowing astronomers to directly observe fainter objects such as exoplanets.
Roman is planned to operate around the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million km from Earth, similar to the location of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Scientific Objectives: The Roman Space Telescope will study dark energy and dark matter, detect exoplanets through gravitational microlensing, and conduct large-scale surveys of galaxies and stars to improve understanding of the universe and its evolution.
Major Space Telescopes & Observation Techniques
Hubble Space Telescope: Launched in 1990, it orbits Earth and has made major observations in visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths.
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): Launched in December 2021 and operates near the Sun–Earth L2 point, with strong emphasis on infrared astronomy.
Transit method: Detects an exoplanet when it passes in front of its host star and causes a small, periodic drop in observed brightness.
Microlensing method: Detects an exoplanet through the temporary gravitational magnification of a background star caused by the planet-star system passing in front of it.
Coronagraphy: Unlike microlensing, coronagraphy attempts to block or suppress starlight so that faint objects close to the star can be directly observed.
Key facts for Prelims
Dark energy is associated with the accelerated expansion of the universe and is estimated to account for roughly 68% of the universe's total energy-matter content.
Dark matter does not significantly interact with electromagnetic radiation but reveals its presence through gravitational effects and constitutes roughly 27% of the universe.
Lagrange points are positions in a two-body system where the gravitational effects and orbital motion allow a smaller object to maintain a relatively stable configuration; the Sun–Earth system has five Lagrange points.