2026-08-31
Launch of the Roman Space Telescope
Space never stops amazing us. Today: Launch of the Roman Space Telescope. Here is the science:
Why this matters
Today's view is a window onto deep-space objects, the planets, rocket launches. Images like this aren't just beautiful — they're how astronomers measure distance, motion and the deep history of the universe, turning faint light into hard data.
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The science, from NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day
A new telescope has been launched into space to study the universe. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST) has the same size main mirror as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) but sees 100 times more sky during each snapshot. This is possible because when compared to HST, RST's main mirror is more curved, its secondary mirror is closer, and its main camera is larger. The result is that RST can inspect more of the sky more quickly, likely allowing, among other capabilities, the discovery of many more supernovas which tell us more about the expansion rate and composition of our universe, and many more planets orbiting other stars that tell us more about the possibilities for life elsewhere in the universe. RST will orbit the Sun, not the Earth, like the James Webb Space Telescope. The featured video shows Roman being launched yesterday from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. APOD's main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Source: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (public domain)
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