NASA's new telescope could reveal Jupiter-like planets
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will image planets beyond our solar system.
1A new space telescope is on its way
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could launch as early as next month. This telescope will be the first instrument capable of directly imaging planets outside our solar system. Its active coronagraph technology will block starlight to reveal orbiting planets.
2100 times wider view than Hubble
The Roman Telescope's 300-megapixel wide-field camera can capture images 100 times larger than Hubble's widest shots at similar resolution. This capability will help unravel mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, and could detect over 100,000 new exoplanets.
3Planet-hunting coronagraph
The active coronagraph will effectively block starlight to make surrounding planets visible. This technology will allow detection of smaller, dimmer planets orbiting closer to their stars. NASA engineers describe it as 'giving us the ability to see planets we couldn't physically see before.'
4Shape-shifting mirror technology
The telescope contains two deformable mirrors with 48x48 actuators. These mirrors can morph at microscopic scales to cancel unwanted light. Each mirror segment can adjust by movements as small as one-tenth the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
5Light traps: Silicon grass
The telescope uses masks with microscopic spikes called 'silicon grass.' These structures absorb photons to prevent scattering inside the instrument. Light entering this microscopic forest gets trapped and doesn't reflect back toward the camera.
6Finding true Jupiter analogs
Most exoplanets imaged so far are young, massive 'hot Jupiters.' The Roman Telescope could directly image planets similar to our Jupiter in mass and orbit. This would help us understand solar systems like our own.
7Critical step in finding Earth 2.0
This telescope is seen as a crucial step toward finding Earth-like planets. NASA engineers hope Roman will be remembered as 'that critical stepping stone for finding Earth 2.0.' The technology could pave the way for future missions to image Earth-like worlds.