Speakers: Dr. Jennifer Wiseman and Dr. Julie McEnery (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

NASA announced this year that the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope will officially be named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, in honor of NASA’s first chief astronomer who paved the way for space telescopes and is regarded as the “mother” of the Hubble Space Telescope.

When NASA’s Roman Space Telescope launches in the mid-2020s, it will create enormous space panoramas of unprecedented detail. The mission’s wide field of view will enable scientists to conduct sweeping cosmic surveys, yielding a wealth of information about celestial realms from our solar system to the edge of the observable universe.

Roman will survey the sky in infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes. It will have the same resolution in near-infrared wavelengths as Hubble, but will capture a field of view about 100 times larger. 

Join this free talk to learn how Roman’s surveys will deliver new insights into the history and structure of the universe, including the mysterious dark energy that is making space itself expand faster and faster, and how this powerful new observatory will build on the broad foundation of work begun with Hubble and other observatories on planets outside our solar system. It will discover thousands of exoplanets using its wide-field camera and study the atmospheres of giant gaseous planets orbiting other stars with a sophisticated technology demonstration coronagraph.

Recorded live on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. 

The STScI Public Lecture Series offers talks on a diverse selection of cosmic topics, typically held the first Tuesday of every month. The 2020 Public Lecture Series is implementing an online-only format. This lecture will be presented with a livestream to YouTube, and questions can be asked in the YouTube chat. As usual, the recording will also be posted on our YouTube channel. We will, as necessary, adjust from the traditional first Tuesday at 8 PM schedule to accommodate our speakers. 

Live and archived recordings:

• News and Introductions
• The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (YouTube)