A new set of eyes on the universe left Earth this week, headed for a vantage point far beyond the Moon.
NASA's Roman Space Telescope launched shortly after daybreak from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to CBS News, and is headed toward an observation point roughly one million miles from Earth. The $4.3 billion telescope is expected to discover tens of thousands of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system, while also probing the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the mysterious components thought to make up the vast majority of the universe's total mass and energy.
The telescope's distant vantage point, far beyond the reach of Earth's atmosphere and much of its light interference, allows for a wide, sharp view of the sky that scientists hope will complement other major observatories already in operation, including the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. Its wide field of view is designed to let researchers survey much larger patches of sky than earlier space telescopes could manage in the same amount of time, potentially accelerating the pace of new discoveries across several major areas of astrophysics at once.
Named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first chief astronomer, the mission has been in development for well over a decade, moving through design, funding, and construction phases before reaching this week's launch. The mission comes during a period of renewed attention on U.S. space exploration more broadly. President Trump is separately planning to award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the crew of NASA's Artemis II mission, the program aimed at sending American astronauts around the Moon for the first time in decades, in an upcoming ceremony.
The telescope will spend the coming months traveling to its observation point before beginning its science operations, with its first major discoveries expected in the following months.
What is the Roman Space Telescope named for?
It is named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, after NASA's first chief astronomer.
How is it different from the Hubble or James Webb telescopes?
Its wide field of view is designed to survey much larger areas of sky at once, complementing the more zoomed-in views of telescopes like Hubble and James Webb.