As the next-generation space telescope ‘Roman’ made by mankind was scheduled for launch in about four years, attention was focused on its outstanding performance.
On the 8th, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the space exploration method and amazing specifications of the Roman Space Telescope, which is scheduled to be launched in May 2027, through an official channel.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has devised a so-called “method of reversing cosmic time” to uncover the mysteries of the evolution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. It is a method of tracing back the process of cosmic evolution with high-performance equipment, as if turning the actual time, and the subject is the Roman Space Telescope.
A NASA official said, “The vast structure of the universe is a filamentary structure in which regions where galaxies or galaxy clusters are dense and supercavities (voids) where galaxies rarely exist are intertwined.” I think it is because it attracts galaxies or clusters of galaxies.”
The most influential standard model of the universe is ‘Lambda-CDM’. It is a model in which materials that are accelerating expansion, including dark matter and dark energy, are the main subjects. It is believed that quantum tremors occurred in the gas in the plasma state that filled the early universe, attracting dark matter particles.
Later, as the quantum tremors expanded due to the expansion of the universe, there was a difference in the density of dark matter in outer space, and the gravity of the ‘Dark Halo’, in which dark matter particles were accumulated, pulled the gas and dust that are the materials of stars. It is the theory that the current universe is the result of the creation and coalescence of stars and galaxies.
The Roman Space Telescope is a device that examines how the distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies evolves and checks whether the standard model of the universe is correct. In the formation and evolution of galaxies, numerous physical processes such as interstellar gas cooling, star formation, and supernova explosions are complexly repeated, and there are many parts that are not yet understood only with theory and simulation, so expectations are high for the Roman Telescope.
A NASA official said, “The role of looking into the history of the evolution of the universe and how galaxies were formed was the responsibility of space telescopes such as Hubble.” It will be easily overpowered.”
The telescope is equipped with a primary mirror with a diameter of 2.4 m, the same as that of Hubble, and two state-of-the-art observation equipment. One is the Wide Field Instrument (WFI), a wide-field near-infrared camera. WFI has a wide field of view 100 times that of the Hubble Space Telescope and has a 300-million-pixel imaging device.
A NASA official said, “Thanks to the field of view and orbital speed of the Roman Space Telescope, it will be possible to map outer space at about 1,000 times faster than the Hubble Space Telescope.”
Scholars believe that if the Roman Space Telescope is launched and collects data, it will be possible to understand in detail the formation of galaxies and dark matter, which have been dependent on hypotheses and simulation results.
The Roman Telescope is named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman. It is scheduled to launch in May 2027 from point 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Afterwards, observations are made around L2 (distance of about 1.5 million km from the Earth), one of the Lagrangian points of the Sun and Earth. The expected operating period is a total of 10 years, plus 5 years of re-extension.
Reporter Jeong Ian anglee@sputnik.kr
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