Roman telescope captures its first test image — Live Science
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has activated its 300-megapixel infrared camera for the first time and captured a test image of hundreds of stars. In the image, they appear as greenish rings because the camera has not yet been fully focused.
As Live Science reports, the telescope, launched on August 30, is undergoing a months-long commissioning process. During this period, specialists are testing and calibrating its instruments while the spacecraft travels to the L2 Lagrange point, located approximately 1.6 million kilometers from Earth.
Camera with 18 detectors
The Wide Field Instrument, or WFI, has 18 detectors. They convert photons from distant light sources into electrical signals, from which large images of the Universe are created. NASA is preparing to receive about 1.4 terabytes of data from the telescope every day.
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Roman's first full scientific images are expected in early 2027. According to NASA, the telescope will be able to capture images with detail comparable to that of the Hubble telescope, but each frame will cover an area of the sky 100 times larger.
Dark energy and exoplanets
Long-term surveys of distant galaxies are expected to help astronomers detect new objects and measure the expansion of the Universe, which may provide new data for studying dark energy. The telescope is also equipped with a coronagraph that blocks starlight and makes it possible to observe exoplanets more accurately without interference from stellar glare. This instrument was also successfully tested this week.
The Roman mission was initially planned for 10 years. At the same time, NASA said that a successful maneuver using the engines and an additional fuel reserve could enable the spacecraft to operate for up to 22 years.
