The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in approximately May 2027, will present a groundbreaking perspective of the Milky Way Galaxy. This NASA mission aims to observe hundreds of millions of stars in pursuit of subtle fluctuations that indicate the existence of astronomical objects, such as exoplanets, far-off stars, icy entities in our solar system, black holes, and more.
Roman’s capabilities are pivotal for advancing the realm of time-domain astronomy, which centers on the study of how the universe evolves over time.
The telescope’s Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey will concentrate on the Milky Way Galaxy, utilizing its infrared sight to penetrate through dust clouds that obstruct our vision of the galaxy’s central region.
Roman’s distinctive capabilities render it an invaluable instrument for discovery, offering an extensive field of view and precise perception.
This NASA mission will actively seek microlensing events, which occur when objects align perfectly, causing the foreground object to function as a natural magnifying glass, momentarily intensifying the background star’s illumination.
The survey involves capturing images every 15 minutes continuously for approximately two months, with this procedure repeated six times during Roman’s primary mission lasting five years.
Astronomers expect that this prolonged observation will unveil over a thousand planets, some potentially located within their star’s habitable zone.
Roman Space Telescope’s microlensing observations will also illuminate the occurrence of planets around various types of stars, including binary systems.
In addition to exoplanets, Roman will detect neutron stars, black holes, brown dwarfs, Kuiper belt objects, and even contribute to the study of stellar seismology, providing a broader and more comprehensive comprehension of the constantly evolving universe.
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