NASA starts working on huge space telescope

[Zyraz]

NASA starts working on huge space telescope
The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, or simply WFIRST.

Watch a video on the research here.

[video=youtube;-HXYg_BWGpk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HXYg_BWGpk[/video]

NASA is set to begin the construction of a flagship space observatory that will use a decommissioned top secret spy satellite telescope, with a field of view 200 times wider than that of the Hubble Space Telescope and capable of studying exotic dark matter, distant exoplanets and the formation of faraway solar systems.

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, or simply WFIRST, will begin its first build stage in February, according to agency officials. The telescope, to be mounted into the new observatory, was originally designed for the National Reconnaissance Office, America's spy satellite agency, and previously flew surveillance missions.

The telescope's 2.4 meter mirrors are the same as those used in Hubble, and, coupled with new electronics, allow seeing space in near-infrared wavelengths at greater depth than previously measured. WFIRST will be also equipped with a sensitive coronagraph, an instrument used to block extremely bright surfaces, such as stars, allowing the observation of objects such as exoplanets in greater detail.

Other mission specifications and requirements will be detailed during the construction phase, according to David Spergel, co-chair of the WFIRST science definition team.

"An example of something that we will decide during formulation is the filters that we will use. We need to weigh the relative merits of being sensitive to bluer photons versus having sharper wavelength coverage" Spergel outlined in an interview with Discovery News. "Improved blue sensitivity will help us better characterize the properties of stars in nearby galaxies, but possibly at the cost of less accurate determination of distance to galaxies through photometry," he added.

WFIRST is projected to cost about $2.3 billion.

Congress has currently allocated some $90 million to NASA for the 2016 fiscal year, six times more than agency initially requested. Due to the financial boost the build phase will start a month ahead of a schedule.

The mission is expected to be launched by 2024, and to spend some six years at the L2 Lagrange point, a location a million miles from Earth in the direction away from the sun.

Source

 

[Zyraz]

More interesting outlooks on where we heading with the next generation telescope ...

The hunt is on! NASA has begun a quest to select its next big instrument to study the cosmos.

Observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope have revolutionized humanity's view of the cosmos. And upcoming projects, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the WFIRST-AFTA mission — which the agency aims to launch in 2018 and the mid-2020s, respectively — promise to make big discoveries of their own.

But what will happen after that? What kind of space telescope does NASA aim to build a few decades from now? The picture is getting a little clearer: Earlier this month, the space agency announced that it is forming four working groups to investigate possible concepts for a large-scale space mission that would likely launch in the 2030s. [The Most Amazing Views of the Cosmos from Hubble]

One of the four mission concepts is focused on direct imaging of the surfaces of exoplanets, to potentially search for signs of life. The other three concepts are for space telescopes built to detect specific wavelengths of light: the ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared range, similar to what Hubble sees; X-ray light; and far-infrared light. The space agency is now accepting applications from scientists to join one of the four groups. Paul Hertz, director of NASA's astrophysics division, delivered a town hall talk at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Florida earlier this month, in which he announced the formation of the groups and put out a call for applications.

The groups will put together a report that will show what kind of science each concept could accomplish, what capabilities it would have, what limitations exist for building it, and how each space telescope would benefit the entire astronomy community. Much of the potential science that each mission could accomplish was written about at length in NASA's 2013 Astrophysics Roadmap: "Enduring Quests, Daring Visions: NASAAstrophysics in the Next Three Decades."

Here is a brief description of each of the four mission concepts and what they hope to accomplish.

- See more at: http://www.space.com/31778-nasa-nex...&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856#sthash.8hH0IAs9.dpuf

 

[Arthur]

And let's not forget the James Webb Space Telescope, due for launch in Oct 2018. It's a 6.5m telescope sensitive from gold-coloured visible light to the mid-infrared, at wavelengths ranging from 0.6 micrometers to 28.5 micrometers.

The site has two webcams where you can watch it being built.

Exciting times for us telescope guys.

 

[Zyraz]

And let's not forget the James Webb Space Telescope, due for launch in Oct 2018. It's a 6.5m telescope sensitive from gold-coloured visible light to the mid-infrared, at wavelengths ranging from 0.6 micrometers to 28.5 micrometers.

The site has two webcams where you can watch it being built.

Exciting times for us telescope guys.

INDEED ! Check this