![]() ![]() As demonstrated by the NASA missions Kepler and TESS, wide-field imagers are key to conducting a census of the exoplanets in the Galaxy because of the large sample of objects that can be analyzed in a single pointing. One of the goals of WFIRST's science mission is to advance our understanding of exoplanets. All in all, WFIRST will enable high-precision astrometric studies at a large variety of size scales, from exoplanetary systems out to the galaxies of the Local Group. Furthermore, WFIRST will operate in the infrared regime, so it will be able to see through dust-obscured regions of the sky, like the center of our Galaxy. This makes WFIRST's optics extremely stable, especially when compared to low-Earth-orbit telescopes like HST, which suffers from periodic focus changes due to uneven heating from both the Earth and the Sun during each orbit. In addition, WFIRST will orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point L2, over a million miles away from Earth. Compared to HST and the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST), WFIRST's much wider field of view, at comparable angular resolution to HST, will provide thousands of astrometric targets in a single pointing anywhere in the sky. Several key characteristics of WFIRST and its WFI make it an excellent astrometric tool. Advances in all areas of astrophysics will be possible, either through targeted General Observer programs, or through archival Guest Investigator analysis of data from core surveys optimized for studies of dark energy or exoplanets.Īstrometry was one of five key "discovery areas" highlighted by the Astro2010 Decadal Survey. WFIRST will also include a high-performance coronagraphic instrument. With a Hubble Space Telescope ( HST)-sized mirror and a field of view 100 times larger, WFIRST's Wide Field Instrument (WFI) will combine true survey-level capabilities with space-based sensitivity and resolution. Ranked as the highest scientific priority for a large space-based mission in the Astro2010 Decadal Survey, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope ( WFIRST) will play a pivotal role in astrophysics in the 2020s. View Filtered Roman Annual Report Articles View All Roman Annual Report Articles WFIRST: A New Era in High-Precision AstrometryĪ. ![]()
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