NASA’s next-generation space telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, is scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch is scheduled for 7:26am EDT on Sunday, August 30, and we invite you to join us for a virtual launch party!
Roman is not just a flagship mission for NASA, but for many of us in the Astronomy and Physics Departments at OSU, it has been over a decade of work developing the technology and scientific programs in cosmology, exoplanets and stars to make the mission a success. Over 30 OSU students, postdocs, and faculty will be at Cape Canaveral for the launch, and the rest of us will be eagerly watching the NASA feed.
Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the ‘mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,’ the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble's, potentially measuring light from a billion galaxies in its lifetime. This observatory will also be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
Beginning Sunday, August 30 at 7:00 am EDT, we are hosting a virtual launch party on Zoom. We will be live-streaming the NASA launch feed, and panellists Todd Thompson, Jennifer Johnson, Paarmita Pandey, and Claire Lamman will be on hand to talk about the mission of the Roman Space Telescope, how OSU is involved, and to answer your questions!
Please join us by registering at the following link. Registering allows us to let you know of alternate plans if the launch date is changed:
