VNR: UH innovation, astronomers help power NASA’s newest space telescope

Illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Credit: NASA

The telescope is more than 42 feet long and 14 feet wide. Credit: NASA

From L to R: UH IfA researchers Cameron Pfeffer and Chris Ashall

Cassiopeia A, the glowing remains of a supernova explosion. Credit: NASA

Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/RSS

***Suggested VOSOT script below***

Set to launch on August 30, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will begin a mission to capture sweeping views of the universe on a scale never before possible, studying billions of stars, distant galaxies, and worlds beyond our solar system. Decades of University of Hawaiʻi innovation are set to launch with it.

“Roman is going to completely transform our view of our home galaxy, the Milky Way,” said Dan Huber, an astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at UH Mānoa who will watch the launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida alongside several IfA colleagues. 

UH’s influence on the mission stretches from the telescope’s technology to the science it will produce. Technology developed by IfA researchers sits at the heart of Roman’s massive camera. UH astronomers helped shape how the telescope will study the Milky Way, are building tools to turn its images into usable science, and will lead projects exploring exploding stars, mysterious dimming stars, and the expansion of the universe.

This work builds on the international reputation of the IfA, one of the world’s premier astronomy programs. UH researchers have helped advance astronomy from Hawaiʻi for decades, including developing technology used on Maunakea, where astronomical research has consistently ranked among the world’s most scientifically influential.

Mapping the Milky Way

Roman’s mirror is the same size as that of its famous predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, but its huge camera has a field of view 100 times larger. Its infrared vision will allow astronomers to peer through dust and survey huge areas of the sky much more efficiently.

Huber co-chaired the committee that helped define one of Roman’s three major surveys. Roman is expected to image more than 20 billion stars, providing an unprecedented look at the structure and history of the Milky Way. Huber will use tiny changes in stars’ brightness, known as “starquakes,” to help determine the masses and ages of stars near the center of our galaxy and uncover clues about how it formed.

UH eyes the universe 

Five UH-led research programs were selected in the mission’s first highly competitive round, bringing more than $1 million to UH researchers.

Two are led by Institute for Astronomy graduate students Cameron Pfeffer and Willem Hoogendam. Both will study supernovae—exploding stars used to measure vast distances across the universe.

“These students competed directly with senior researchers around the world and are among the few graduate students selected globally to lead Roman science programs,” said IfA astronomer Chris Ashall, a co-principal investigator on both student projects. 

UH Mānoa physicist David Rubin is also helping build core software that will turn Roman’s raw supernova images into precise measurements of the universe’s expansion.

Earth Sciences Professor Eric Gaidos will lead another UH program searching Roman data for rare stars that mysteriously fade for months at a time. Astronomers think some of these events happen when clouds of dust pass in front of aging stars, possibly revealing dramatic events in their planetary systems.

UH Institute for Astronomy researcher Kartheik Iyer will lead a Roman science program examining how galaxies form and evolve.

“Looking at the Milky Way in the context of large populations of galaxies allows us to understand exactly how our own galaxy is unique,” said Iyer, who recently joined IfA as an assistant professor. “That gives us perspective on how systems like our solar system and Earth fit into the larger landscape of the universe.”

Hawaiʻi technology in space

UH’s connection to Roman began decades before launch.

Roman’s wide-field camera contains 18 advanced infrared sensors descended from HAWAII detector technology developed by IfA researchers led by Klaus Hodapp and the late Don Hall. Early versions were tested on the UH 2.2-meter telescope on Maunakea in the 1990s.

Related UH News story: Ground-breaking UH-designed sensors aboard NASA’s historic space telescope, December 20, 2021

The technology later reached the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. Roman’s 300-million-pixel camera represents its most advanced generation yet.

“It’s exciting to see UH contributing to Roman’s supernova cosmology at every level, from that foundational pipeline to the individual science programs it will support,” Rubin said.

Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/RSS

VIDEO BROLL: (2 minutes)

0:00–0:34 - Roman Space Telescope (Credit: NASA) 

0:34-1:03 - UH Institute for Astronomy researchers 

1:03-1:21 - HAWAII infrared detectors at UH Institute for Astronomy 

1:21-2:00 - More Roman Space Telescope (Credit: NASA) 

SOUNDBITES

Cameron Pfeffer/Graduate Student, UH Institute for Astronomy (Pfeffer pronounced: FEFF-er)

(15 seconds)

“We really haven’t had something quite like this before. We’re going to get photos of the universe that are almost at the quality of Hubble but over giant areas of the sky. And these are really going to be unprecedented fantastic images and I’m really looking forward to seeing them.”

Chris Ashall/Associate Astronomer, UH Institute for Astronomy (Ashall pronounced: ASH-all)

(22 seconds)

“The science behind the proposals came from a lot of research we did already here on the telescopes of Maunakea. So our ability to have this unique access to these telescopes means we can ask different questions to other people, we can do different work beforehand and this really allowed us to get a team together and ask the right scientific questions to be successful with working with Roman.”

Kartheik Iyer/Assistant Professor, UH Institute for Astronomy (Kartheik Iyer pronounced: KAR-tick EYE-er)

(16 seconds)

“Looking at the Milky Way, our galactic home in the context of large populations of galaxies allows us to understand exactly in what ways our own galaxy is unique. This provides us perspective on exactly how systems like our solar system and Earth might fit into the larger landscape of the universe.”

SUGGESTED VOSOT SCRIPT

INTRO
A piece of Hawaiʻi is heading into space this weekend, as UH technology and astronomers help power NASA’s newest space telescope.

VO
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches Sunday. Its massive camera will capture Hubble-quality images across an area of sky 100 times larger. And technology developed at UH helped make that camera possible.

SOT (Cameron Pfeffer/Graduate student, UH Institute for Astronomy) 

“We’re going to get photos of the universe that are almost at the quality of Hubble but over giant areas of the sky. And these are really going to be unprecedented fantastic images.”

VO
UH’s role goes beyond hardware. Five UH-led research programs were selected to use Roman data, studying everything from exploding stars to distant galaxies.

SOT (Chris Ashall/Associate Astronomer, UH Institute for Astronomy)
“The science behind the proposals came from a lot of research we did already here on the telescopes of Maunakea. So our ability to have this unique access to these telescopes means we can ask different questions.”

VO
UH astronomers also helped shape one of Roman’s major surveys, putting Hawaiʻi researchers at the center of what scientists hope will be a new era of discovery.