NASA Unveils Plan to Map the Milky Way in unprecedented detail with its Roman Space Telescope. Over two years of observations, the telescope will scan nearly 700 square degrees of the galaxy's disk-shaped structure containing most of our stars, gas and dust.
The Galactic Plane Survey is Roman's first selected general astrophysics survey, marking a significant milestone for the space agency. The mission aims to reveal the mysterious far side of the Milky Way and its star-studded heart in unprecedented detail. With at least 25% of Roman's five-year primary mission reserved for astronomers worldwide to propose more surveys beyond the core programs, this project promises to be a scientific mother lode.
Unlike ESA's retired Gaia spacecraft that mapped around 2 billion Milky Way stars in visible light, Roman will use powerful infrared vision that can pierce through dust to see what lies beyond. By surveying in infrared light, Roman will reveal tens of billions of stars and explore previously uncharted structures.
The survey will cover nearly 700 square degrees along the glowing band of the Milky Way — our edge-on view of the disk-shaped structure containing most of our galaxy's stars, gas, and dust. Scientists expect to map up to 20 billion stars and detect tiny shifts in their positions with repeated high-resolution observations. Roman will conduct this impressive survey over just 29 days spread across its first two years.
Roman will study stellar birth rates across a wide range of masses and stitch together videos that show how stars change over time. By observing so many stars in various stages of early development, astronomers will shed light on the forces that shape them. Star formation is like a four-way tug-of-war between gravity, radiation, magnetism, and turbulence.
The survey will also explore nearly 2,000 young, loosely bound open clusters to see how the galaxy's spiral arms trigger star formation. Roman will map dozens of ancient, densely packed globular clusters near the center of the galaxy that could help astronomers reconstruct the Milky Way's early history.
Roman will also find stellar embers even when they're alone thanks to wrinkles in space-time. The telescope will observe these signals, which are caused by microlensing, allowing scientists to learn the mass and size of otherwise invisible foreground objects.
By studying stars that flicker, Roman will pinpoint the culprits and take high-resolution snapshots of the aftermath. Some stars throb rhythmically, and the speed of their pulsing is directly linked to their intrinsic brightness. By comparing their true brightness to how bright they appear from Earth, astronomers can measure distances across the galaxy.
The Galactic Plane Survey by NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will scan the densest part of our galaxy, where most of its stars, gas and dust reside — the most difficult region to study from our place inside the Milky Way since we have to look through so much light-blocking material. The wide field of view, crisp resolution, and infrared vision of Roman will help astronomers peer through thick bands of dust to chart new galactic territory.
Roman's repeated observations will also monitor stars that flicker. Ground-based surveys detect thousands of bright stellar outbursts, but often can't see the faint, dust-obscured stars that produce them. Roman will track these blinking stars farther away than ever before and over time, helping astronomers improve their cosmic measuring sticks.
"The Galactic Plane Survey by Roman will create the best portrait of the galaxy we've ever had," said Robert Benjamin, a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and a co-chair of the committee that selected the Galactic Plane Survey design.
The Galactic Plane Survey is Roman's first selected general astrophysics survey, marking a significant milestone for the space agency. The mission aims to reveal the mysterious far side of the Milky Way and its star-studded heart in unprecedented detail. With at least 25% of Roman's five-year primary mission reserved for astronomers worldwide to propose more surveys beyond the core programs, this project promises to be a scientific mother lode.
Unlike ESA's retired Gaia spacecraft that mapped around 2 billion Milky Way stars in visible light, Roman will use powerful infrared vision that can pierce through dust to see what lies beyond. By surveying in infrared light, Roman will reveal tens of billions of stars and explore previously uncharted structures.
The survey will cover nearly 700 square degrees along the glowing band of the Milky Way — our edge-on view of the disk-shaped structure containing most of our galaxy's stars, gas, and dust. Scientists expect to map up to 20 billion stars and detect tiny shifts in their positions with repeated high-resolution observations. Roman will conduct this impressive survey over just 29 days spread across its first two years.
Roman will study stellar birth rates across a wide range of masses and stitch together videos that show how stars change over time. By observing so many stars in various stages of early development, astronomers will shed light on the forces that shape them. Star formation is like a four-way tug-of-war between gravity, radiation, magnetism, and turbulence.
The survey will also explore nearly 2,000 young, loosely bound open clusters to see how the galaxy's spiral arms trigger star formation. Roman will map dozens of ancient, densely packed globular clusters near the center of the galaxy that could help astronomers reconstruct the Milky Way's early history.
Roman will also find stellar embers even when they're alone thanks to wrinkles in space-time. The telescope will observe these signals, which are caused by microlensing, allowing scientists to learn the mass and size of otherwise invisible foreground objects.
By studying stars that flicker, Roman will pinpoint the culprits and take high-resolution snapshots of the aftermath. Some stars throb rhythmically, and the speed of their pulsing is directly linked to their intrinsic brightness. By comparing their true brightness to how bright they appear from Earth, astronomers can measure distances across the galaxy.
The Galactic Plane Survey by NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will scan the densest part of our galaxy, where most of its stars, gas and dust reside — the most difficult region to study from our place inside the Milky Way since we have to look through so much light-blocking material. The wide field of view, crisp resolution, and infrared vision of Roman will help astronomers peer through thick bands of dust to chart new galactic territory.
Roman's repeated observations will also monitor stars that flicker. Ground-based surveys detect thousands of bright stellar outbursts, but often can't see the faint, dust-obscured stars that produce them. Roman will track these blinking stars farther away than ever before and over time, helping astronomers improve their cosmic measuring sticks.
"The Galactic Plane Survey by Roman will create the best portrait of the galaxy we've ever had," said Robert Benjamin, a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and a co-chair of the committee that selected the Galactic Plane Survey design.
. and the fact that they'll be studying stellar birth rates, star formation, and ancient globular clusters will give us clues about how our galaxy came to be in the first place... it's like solving a cosmic puzzle piece by piece
. and that's just, like, totally mind-blowing, right?
. And studying stellar birth rates across different masses is like trying to understand why my old laptop still works after years of DIY fixes 
. Seriously though, this mission is a huge deal and will help us learn so much more about our galaxy and its mysteries 
. The idea that Roman will be able to see stars even when they're alone because of wrinkles in space-time is just mind-blowing 
. I'm hyped for the scientific discoveries that'll come out of this mission! 
20 billion stars in one survey is mind-blowing 
. Imagine being able to study star formation and the forces that shape them like never before 
. And the idea of finding stellar embers even when they're alone is crazy 
. What will scientists learn from this survey? Will we finally get answers about the Milky Way's early history? 
. They're mapping the Milky Way like it's some kinda cosmic puzzle 
, watching us from space and gathering intel on our galaxy.
. But I'm not saying that's the case... or am I? 
what do u think? should we start a petition to make pineapple pizza popular again 
! The Roman Space Telescope is like the ultimate detective trying to solve the mystery of our galaxy... or as I like to call it, "The Universe's Biggest Family Reunion" 
they're actually gonna map the whole milky way in such detail its like whoa what a mind blown project 
can you imagine all those stars shining bright and being mapped out for us to study lol the fact that it's using infrared vision to see through dust is just genius 
guess what they'll find out next? some more stuff we don't need, more data to sift through 
which could help scientists figure out some pretty interesting stuff... but we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out 
. And they're gonna do it with this Roman Space Telescope that's basically a superpowerful infrared vision machine 