Roman Space Telescope could image 100 Hubble ultra deep fields at once by Christine Pulliam, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
One of the Hubble Space Telescope's most iconic images is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which unveiled myriad galaxies across the universe, stretching back to within a few hundred million years of the Big Bang. Hubble peered at a single patch of seemingly empty sky for hundreds of hours beginning in September 2003, and astronomers first unveiled this galaxy tapestry in 2004, with more observations in subsequent years.
NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to photograph an area of the sky at least 100 times larger than Hubble with the same crisp sharpness. Among the many observations that will be enabled by this wide view on the cosmos, astronomers are considering the possibility and scientific potential of a Roman Space Telescope "ultra-deep field." Such an observation could reveal new insights into subjects ranging from star formation during the universe's youth to the way galaxies cluster together in space.
Roman will enable new science in all areas of astrophysics, from the solar system to the edge of the observable universe. Much of Roman's observing time will be dedicated to surveys over wide swaths of the sky. However, some observing time will also be available for the general astronomical community to request other projects. A Roman ultra deep field could greatly benefit the scientific community, say astronomers.
"As a community science concept, there could be exciting science returns from ultra-deep field observations by Roman. We would like to engage the astronomical community to think about ways in which they could take advantage of Roman's capabilities," said Anton Koekemoer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Koekemoer presented the Roman ultra-deep field idea at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, on behalf of a group of astronomers spanning more than 30 institutions.
As an example, a Roman ultra-deep field could be similar to the Hubble Ultra Deep Field—looking in a single direction for a few hundred hours to build up an extremely detailed image of very faint, distant objects. Yet while Hubble snagged thousands of galaxies this way, Roman would collect millions. As a result, it would enable new science and vastly improve our understanding of the universe.
In 2003, Hubble captured its iconic Ultra Deep Field image, which changed our understanding of the universe. With 100 times more coverage, imagine what we could learn if the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope did the same. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
