The Roman Space Telescope's next generation coronagraph instrument will help deliver amazing views of exoplanets. Learn how it works. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman space telescope will send the hunt for exoplanets into warp speed.
Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Lead Producer
Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Science Writer
Neil Gehrels (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Krystofer Kim (USRA): Lead Animator
Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC): Lead Public Affairs Officer
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Narrator
Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Lead Producer
Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Science Writer
Neil Gehrels (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Krystofer Kim (USRA): Lead Animator
Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC): Lead Public Affairs Officer
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Narrator
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TechTranscript
00:00 A coronagraph
00:04 is a way to see distant planets hidden by the glare of the star they orbit.
00:08 The coronagraph reduces the light coming directly from the star
00:12 to separate it from the light reflected by the planet. The Nancy Grace
00:16 Roman Space Telescope's coronagraph doesn't block the star's light with an opaque
00:20 disk as a simple coronagraph might. Instead,
00:24 it uses a combination of disks with complex patterns and
00:28 opaque blocking stops to create destructive interference with the star's light,
00:32 effectively making it disappear while allowing the light from planets
00:36 to pass through. A complicating factor is that the light
00:40 picks up small distortions as it reflects off the telescope's series of mirrors,
00:44 and these distortions can reduce the effectiveness of the destructive interference.
00:48 Collecting more light increases the image signal, but the planets
00:52 are still hidden under blobs of leftover, distorted starlight.
00:56 To remove these blobs, the coronagraph has special deformable mirrors
01:00 that can change shape by using hundreds of tiny pistons.
01:04 This corrects distortions in the light beam. As the mirrors deform,
01:08 the blobs of light slowly begin to disappear, revealing brighter planets.
01:12 Further adjustment brings fainter planets into view.
01:16 Advanced software processes this data, further improving
01:20 the contrast and clarity of the image. This processing makes
01:24 objects more than a billion times fainter than the star visible.
01:28 As a result, the Roman Space Telescope will provide the first look
01:32 at individual planets in star systems that might be similar to our own.
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