In a new attempt to find Alien life and unravel the mysteries of the cosmos along the way, NASA has announced the construction of a new telescope that will have a field of view 100 times bigger than that of the famous Hubble Space Telescope.
In what is called a new FRESH start for NASA’s search for Intelligent alien life, and with a fresh new budget in their bag, NASA is certainly on the correct path to understanding our place in the universe, and along the way, find our cosmic neighbors and the secrets of the universe.
It is called the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope or (WFIRST) –they could have picked a shorter name don’t you think?.
The new telescope will hopefully shed ‘light’ on the enigmas and secrets behind dark energy and dark matter, and explore our universe while understanding the force that makes up the universe.
It is set to launch in the mid-2020’s. The space observatory will also be looking for new Alien worlds (potentially habitable) outside of the limits of our solar system, and hopefully, discover the ultimate proof that we are not the only civilization in the vast universe.
Before launching WFIRST – NASA’s newest favorite toy – the James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch in 2018. WFIRST is tagged as the next mayor astrophysics observatory.
“WFIRST has the potential to open our eyes to the wonders of the universe, much the same way Hubble has,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC.
“This mission uniquely combines the ability to discover and characterize planets beyond our own solar system with the sensitivity and optics to look wide and deep into the universe in a quest to unravel the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter,” he explained in a statement.
The main goal of the Observatory is to survey large regions in the sky using infrared light in hopes of answering the fundamental questions of the structure and evolution of our universe, in order to expand our knowledge and understanding of planets located outside our solar system.
To find planets elsewhere in the universe, the WFIRST observatory will be equipped with a Wide Field Instrument for surveys, and a Coronagraph Instrument, designed specifically to block the glare of specific stars, in order to reveal the faint light of planets around them.
After clocking the light from the host star, the Observatory’s Coronagraph Instrument will make it possible to obtain detailed measurements of the chemical makeup of planetary atmospheres, something that could detect habitable planets similar to Earth.
“WFIRST is designed to address science areas identified as top priorities by the astronomical community,” added Paul Hertz, director of NASA’s astrophysics division.
One of the most important characteristics of WFIRST is the telescope’s sensitivity and wide view which will enable scientists to search at a larger scale, exoplanets by monitoring the brightness of MILLIONS of stars in the central region of the Milky Way.
WFIRST will also measure the distances of thousands of supernovae, which will allow astronomers to map in detail, like never before, how much cosmic expansion has increased with time.
Furthermore, WFIRST can also measure with extreme detail the shape, position and distances of millions of galaxies and track the distribution and growth of cosmic structures.
"The observatory will commence its highly anticipated mission after travelling to a gravitational balance point known as Earth-Sun L2, located approximately one million miles from Earth, in a direction opposite to the Sun", NASA said in a statement.
Source and reference: Space Telescope Science Institute
Image Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute
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