OPENING A NEW WINDOW ON THE UNIVERSE: THE NANCY GRACE ROMAN SPACE TELESCOPE

Massimo Robberto, astrophysicist, Space Telescope Science Institute & Johns Hopkins University in dialogue with Paola Platania, senior researcher, Istituto per la scienza e tecnologia dei plasmi del CNR, Milano

Just four days before its historic launch, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is poised to begin a new era of astronomical discovery. Designed as NASA’s next flagship observatory for wide-field astronomy, Roman will combine the sharp vision of the Hubble Space Telescope with a field of view 100 times larger, allowing astronomers to explore the Universe on an unprecedented scale. In this public lecture, we will journey through the science that Roman will make possible: searching for thousands of planets around distant stars through gravitational microlensing, mapping the mysterious dark matter that shapes galaxies and clusters, investigating the nature of dark energy, and revealing the history of galaxies across cosmic time. We will also look at the remarkable technology behind the telescope, its place alongside the James Webb Space Telescope, and what astronomers hope to learn during its mission.