Latest news with #RomanSpaceTelescope
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Roman Space Telescope will use a century-old idea from Einstein to probe the nature of mysterious dark matter
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. When NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations in 2027, it will use a space-bending effect first predicted by Einstein back in 1916 in an attempt to crack one of science's greatest mysteries: the nature of dark matter. The phenomenon in question is that of "gravitational lensing." The great physicist's magnum opus theory of gravity, general relativity, proposes that this occurs when objects of great mass warp the very fabric of space-time (the four-dimensional unification of space and time), and light from background sources is curved as it passes these "dents" in the cosmos. A new study suggests that the images created by Roman as it performs its huge cosmic surveys could contain around 160,000 gravitational lenses. The research team estimates that around 500 of these could be ideal for investigating dark matter, the universe's most mysterious "stuff." "Ultimately, the question we're trying to address is: What particle or particles constitute dark matter?" research team principal investigator Tansu Daylan, a faculty fellow at the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, said in a statement. "While some properties of dark matter are known, we essentially have no idea what makes up dark matter," Daylan added. "Roman will help us to distinguish how dark matter is distributed on small scales and, hence, its particle nature." Dark matter represents such a big puzzle for scientists because, despite the fact it makes up around 85% of the matter in the universe, they have little idea what it actually is. The crux of the problem is the fact that dark matter doesn't interact with light (more formally, electromagnetic radiation). This not only means dark matter is effectively invisible, but also that it can't be composed of particles like electrons, protons, and neutrons that make up the atoms that compose everyday matter like stars, planets, moons, and the cat next door. Those do interact with light; that's why you can see said cat defiling your herb garden again. (Why always my basil, Tatty? WHY?) The lack of interaction with electromagnetic radiation, one of the universe's four fundamental forces, has led scientists to search beyond the standard model of particle physics to hunt for new particles that could account for dark matter. You might be wondering how dark matter can curve light if it doesn't interact with light. The answer is that it uses a middle man, another of the universe's four fundamental forces: gravity. General relativity states that all bodies with mass curve space-time to some extent. Light is then forced to follow this curve. Thus, dark matter can play a role in gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing happens when light from a background source passes an object of great mass, like a galaxy. This light is curved, but how extreme this curvature is depends on how close to that body of mass the light passes. That means that light from the same source can take paths of different lengths around a gravitational lens, thus arriving at the same telescope at different times. There are a few possible results of this lensing effect. The background source could be greatly magnified, an effect that NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is using to spot early galaxies, or can even appear at multiple places in the same image, often forming stunning arrangements like Einstein rings and crosses. But the gravitational lensing effect can also reveal details about the lens itself. If that lens is a galaxy, it can show the distribution of that galaxy's "invisible" dark matter. "This effect produces multiple images of the background galaxy that are magnified and distorted differently," Daylan said. These "duplicate images" allow scientists to make multiple measurements of how the lensing galaxy's mass is distributed, resulting in a far more precise measurement. Each image Roman that generates will be around 200 times larger than those produced by the Hubble Space Telescope, and that is how this exciting new space telescope will deliver a wealth of new gravitational lenses. But there is more to Roman's gravitational lens hunting than quantity; the new study shows that it will be about the quality of these new Roman-delivered lenses, too. "Roman will not only significantly increase our sample size [of gravitational lenses] — its sharp, high-resolution images will also allow us to discover gravitational lenses that appear smaller on the sky," said Daylan. "Ultimately, both the alignment and the brightness of the background galaxies need to meet a certain threshold so we can characterize the dark matter within the foreground galaxies." Roman's Wide Field Instrument, A 300-megapixel camera, will allow researchers to gauge the bending of the background galaxies' light with such precision that it is akin to measuring the diameter of a human hair from the distance of more than two and a half American football fields or soccer pitches. Because smaller clumps of dark matter cause less extreme warping, this sensitivity will allow researchers to detect and characterize smaller, less massive dark matter structures. Roman could therefore help spot the sort of dark matter "clumps" that scientists propose came together in the early universe to build galaxies. "Finding gravitational lenses and being able to detect clumps of dark matter in them is a game of tiny odds. With Roman, we can cast a wide net and expect to get lucky often," study team leader Bryce Wedig, also of Washington University in St. Louis, said in the same statement. "With Roman, we can cast a wide net and expect to get lucky often. We won't see dark matter in the images — it's invisible — but we can measure its effects." Related Stories: — Something 'fishy' is happening with the Milky Way's dark matter halo — How the Large Hadron Collider's successor will hunt for the dark universe — Dark matter might live in a dense haze around stellar corpses "We will push the limits of what we can observe, and use every gravitational lens we detect with Roman to pin down the particle nature of dark matter," Daylan concluded. The team's research was published on June 5 in The Astrophysical Journal.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA continues building next-gen Roman Space Telescope despite budget worries
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA engineers have successfully completed testing on one half of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — a key step in making sure this future observatory will perform as expected once it reaches space. "This milestone tees us up to attach the flight solar array sun shield to the outer barrel assembly, and deployable aperture cover, which we'll begin this month," said Jack Marshall, who leads integration and testing for these Roman Space Telescope elements at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Then we'll complete remaining environmental tests for the flight assembly before moving on to connect Roman's two major assemblies and run the full observatory through testing, and then we'll be ready to launch!" he continued. Launch is expected to occur sometime in early 2027. That timeline, however, could still be up in the air as the White House plans to slash NASA's budget in 2026. The drastic 24% cut — the largest in NASA's history — would affect major projects like the Gateway moon-orbiting space station and Mars sample return, among others. Previously released "passback documents," which also describe possible White House fiscal year budget scenarios, suggested funding will be given for the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope but not other telescopes. However, the agency is still awaiting a finalized budget. For now, engineers are continuing their work on Roman. Back in January, before thermal testing could begin, engineers attached the telescope's visor-like sunshade called the "deployable aperture cover" to the telescope's outer barrel assembly, which will eventually house its powerful instruments. By March, they'd also added a set of test solar panels. In April, this entire setup was moved into the Space Environment Simulator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland — a giant chamber that mimics the harsh hot-and-cold temperatures Roman will face in space. Of note, those aforementioned passback documents had reportedly suggested the White House's possible cuts to NASA funding could see Goddard Space Flight Center shut down entirely. Related Stories: — NASA installs 'bulletproof' sunshade on powerful Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (photos) — Trump's 2026 budget plan would cancel NASA's Mars Sample Return mission. Experts say that's a 'major step back' — Experts alarmed as White House proposes 'largest single-year cut to NASA in American history' "The test verifies the instruments will remain at stable operating temperatures even while the sun bakes one side of the observatory and the other is exposed to freezing conditions — all in a vacuum, where heat doesn't flow as readily as it does through air," said Jeremy Perkins, an astrophysicist serving as Roman's observatory integration and test scientist at NASA Goddard. Once Roman is out in orbit nearly a million miles from Earth, there's no easy way to send astronauts to fix it. That's why NASA engineers work tirelessly to make sure everything deploys and operates flawlessly. No second chances. Technicians are gearing up to connect Roman's two main sections this November. Once joined, the telescope will officially become a fully assembled observatory by the end of the year. After final testing is complete, Roman will be packed up and shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin launch preparations in summer 2026. NASA scientists say the mission remains on schedule, though they are working hard toward the possibility of an even earlier liftoff as soon as fall 2026.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA installs 'bulletproof' sunshade on powerful Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (photos)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The team working on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has announced the successful installation of the observatory's sunshade. This visor-like shade serves as a deployable aperture cover, blocking stray light that could interfere with observations or reduce the sensitivity of the infrared telescope, which is expected to launch no later than 2027. The sunshade will operate like a pair of blackout blinds, which will allow Roman to pick up the faintest light from across the universe, "helping astronomers see dimmer and farther objects," NASA officials said in a statement. The sunshade consists of two flexible layers of reinforced thermal blankets, differing from the rigid light shields used on the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. It is designed to remain folded during launch and deploy once Roman is in space. Related: What is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope? "Three booms will spring upward when triggered electronically, raising the sunshade like a page in a pop-up book," NASA said in the statement. The team integrated the sunshade onto Roman's outer barrel assembly, which is another structure designed to shield the telescope from stray light while also helping to maintain a stable temperature for optimal operation and protect it from micrometeoroid impacts. "We're prepared for micrometeoroid impacts that could occur in space, so the blanket is heavily fortified," said Brian Simpson, Roman's deployable aperture cover lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "One layer is even reinforced with Kevlar, the same thing that lines bulletproof vests," Simpson added. "By placing some space in between the layers, we reduce the risk that light would leak in, because it's unlikely that the light would pass through both layers at the exact same points where the holes were." Engineers previously conducted thorough tests on both the sunshade and outer barrel assembly separately. Now that the two components have been integrated, they are undergoing another round of assessments. The team also tested the deployment of the sunshade following its installation. "Since the sunshade was designed to deploy in space, the system isn't actually strong enough to deploy itself in Earth's gravity," said Matthew Neuman, a mechanical engineer working on Roman's sunshade at NASA Goddard. "So we used a gravity-negation system to offset its weight and verified that everything works as expected." Related stories: — NASA's next-gen Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope gets its powerful eye (photos) — NASA dips into futuristic AR tech to build powerful Roman Space Telescope — 'Cosmic dawn:' NASA's Roman Space Telescope will get baby pictures of our universe The next step is thermal vacuum testing, in which the combined components will be exposed to the temperature and pressure conditions of space to verify their functionality. After that, they will undergo a shake test to evaluate their ability to withstand the intense vibrations of launch. "Roman is made up of a lot of separate components that come together after years of design and fabrication," said Laurence Madison, a mechanical engineer at NASA Goddard. "The deployable aperture cover and outer barrel assembly were built at the same time, and up until the integration the two teams mainly used reference drawings to make sure everything would fit together as they should. So the successful integration was both a proud moment and a relief!" Roman will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and head to the sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, a gravitationally stable spot about 900,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from our planet. From there, it will study a variety of cosmic objects and phenomena, from exoplanets to the effects of dark energy.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA installs 'bulletproof' sunshade on powerful Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (photos)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The team working on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has announced the successful installation of the observatory's sunshade. This visor-like shade serves as a deployable aperture cover, blocking stray light that could interfere with observations or reduce the sensitivity of the infrared telescope, which is expected to launch no later than 2027. The sunshade will operate like a pair of blackout blinds, which will allow Roman to pick up the faintest light from across the universe, "helping astronomers see dimmer and farther objects," NASA officials said in a statement. The sunshade consists of two flexible layers of reinforced thermal blankets, differing from the rigid light shields used on the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories. It is designed to remain folded during launch and deploy once Roman is in space. Related: What is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope? "Three booms will spring upward when triggered electronically, raising the sunshade like a page in a pop-up book," NASA said in the statement. The team integrated the sunshade onto Roman's outer barrel assembly, which is another structure designed to shield the telescope from stray light while also helping to maintain a stable temperature for optimal operation and protect it from micrometeoroid impacts. "We're prepared for micrometeoroid impacts that could occur in space, so the blanket is heavily fortified," said Brian Simpson, Roman's deployable aperture cover lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "One layer is even reinforced with Kevlar, the same thing that lines bulletproof vests," Simpson added. "By placing some space in between the layers, we reduce the risk that light would leak in, because it's unlikely that the light would pass through both layers at the exact same points where the holes were." Engineers previously conducted thorough tests on both the sunshade and outer barrel assembly separately. Now that the two components have been integrated, they are undergoing another round of assessments. The team also tested the deployment of the sunshade following its installation. "Since the sunshade was designed to deploy in space, the system isn't actually strong enough to deploy itself in Earth's gravity," said Matthew Neuman, a mechanical engineer working on Roman's sunshade at NASA Goddard. "So we used a gravity-negation system to offset its weight and verified that everything works as expected." Related stories: — NASA's next-gen Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope gets its powerful eye (photos) — NASA dips into futuristic AR tech to build powerful Roman Space Telescope — 'Cosmic dawn:' NASA's Roman Space Telescope will get baby pictures of our universe The next step is thermal vacuum testing, in which the combined components will be exposed to the temperature and pressure conditions of space to verify their functionality. After that, they will undergo a shake test to evaluate their ability to withstand the intense vibrations of launch. "Roman is made up of a lot of separate components that come together after years of design and fabrication," said Laurence Madison, a mechanical engineer at NASA Goddard. "The deployable aperture cover and outer barrel assembly were built at the same time, and up until the integration the two teams mainly used reference drawings to make sure everything would fit together as they should. So the successful integration was both a proud moment and a relief!" Roman will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and head to the sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, a gravitationally stable spot about 900,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from our planet. From there, it will study a variety of cosmic objects and phenomena, from exoplanets to the effects of dark energy.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
WHY ROC: The role for L3Harris in space missions
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — For this GRE WHY ROC segment we are talking space and the Rochester connection. Becky Borrelli, a principal fellow with L3Harris stopped by our studio. She explained NASA is working closely with the company on several missions including the Roman Space Telescope and the James Webb telescope project. We asked what all this satellite technology does for everyday consumers. You can learn more in the interview with the player on this page. As for what's next, the local space division is currently working on technologies for NASA's next flagship astrophysics mission, which is a concept called the Habitable Worlds Observatory. That will identify and examine a sample of Earth-like planets orbiting other stars to determine if they could show signs of hosting life. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
