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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: WFIRST 23rd May 2013, 9:33 pm | |
| http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.5422Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets WFIRST-AFTA Final ReportThe Astro2010 Decadal Survey recommended a Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) as its top priority for a new large space mission. As conceived by the decadal survey, WFIRST would carry out a dark energy science program, a microlensing program to determine the demographics of exoplanets, and a general observing program utilizing its ultra wide field. In October 2012, NASA chartered a Science Definition Team (SDT) to produce, in collaboration with the WFIRST Project Office at GSFC and the Program Office at JPL, a Design Reference Mission (DRM) for an implementation of WFIRST using one of the 2.4-m, Hubble-quality mirror assemblies recently made available to NASA. This DRM builds on the work of the earlier WFIRST SDT, reported by Green et al. (2012). The 2.4-m primary mirror enables a mission with greater sensitivity and higher angular resolution than the 1.3-m and 1.1-m designs considered previously, increasing both the science return of the primary surveys and the capabilities of WFIRST as a Guest Observer facility. The option of adding an on-axis, coronagraphic instrument would enable imaging and spectroscopic studies of planets around nearby stars. This document presents the final report of the SDT. | |
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 23rd May 2013, 9:39 pm | |
| http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.5425WFIRST-2.4: What Every Astronomer Should KnowThe Astro2010 Decadal Survey recommended a Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) as its top priority for a new large space mission. The report of the AFTA-WFIRST Science Definition Team (SDT) presents a Design Reference Mission for WFIRST that employs one of the 2.4-m, Hubble-quality mirror assemblies recently made available to NASA. The 2.4-m primary mirror enables a mission with greater sensitivity and higher angular resolution than the smaller aperture designs previously considered for WFIRST, increasing both the science return of the primary surveys and the capabilities of WFIRST as a Guest Observer facility. The option of adding an on-axis, coronagraphic instrument would enable imaging and spectroscopic studies of planets around nearby stars. This short article, produced as a companion to the SDT report, summarizes the key points of the WFIRST-2.4 DRM. It highlights the remarkable opportunity that the 2.4-m telescope affords for advances in many fields of astrophysics and cosmology, including dark energy, the demographics and characterization of exoplanets, the evolution of galaxies and quasars, and the stellar populations of the Milky Way and its neighbors. | |
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pochimax Planetary Embryo
Number of posts : 89 Location : Torrejon, Spain Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 24th May 2013, 4:45 pm | |
| It is like ESA's Euclid... but bigger.
Doubts about the final performance of a coronograph... maybe will not be implemented. | |
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 4th June 2013, 6:55 pm | |
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 17th April 2014, 11:01 am | |
| There's a video lecture on WFIRST-AFTA from the SETI Institute's YouTube channel. I jotted down some notes, which in some cases was just literally writing what's on the slides. The video is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0gy5wXI98EAFTA = Astrophysics Focused Telescope AssetsDesign Reference Mission 1 (DRM-1) 1.3 metre off-axis telescope 150 Mpx, 0.4 deg^2 5 year mission, 15% guest observer time. DRM-2 1.1 metre off-axis telescope 234 Mpx, 0.6 deg^2 3 year mission, 15% guest observer time. 2.4m AFTA (current design) Near-IR, 1-2µm. 2.4 metre on-axis telescope 288 Mpx, 0.3 deg^2 Additional IFU for SN slit spectroscopy for supernovae. Additional coronograph for exoplanet imaging 6 year mission, 25% guest observer time. 1st Report Completed May 2013 2nd report in progress -- more details on exoplanet coronograph, DE, microlensing. Final report Jan 2015. AFTA is awesome. · What is dark energy? · Is our Solar System special? · Are the planets around nearby stars like those of our solar system? · How do galaxies form and evolve? AFTA compliments JWST. JWST is deep, AFTA is wide. AFTA Instruments. Wide Field Instrument - Imaging & spectroscopy over thousands of square degrees. - Monitoring of supernovae and microlensing fields. - 0.7 - 2.0 µm - 0.28 sq deg FoV. - 18 H4RG detectors. 288 Mpx. - 4 filter imaging, grims + IFU spectroscopy Coronograph (descopable) - Imaging of ice and gas giant exoplanets. - Imaging of debris disks. - 400 - 1000 nm bandpass. - 10^-9 contrast. - 100 milliarcsec inner working angle at 400 nm. - Now undergoing focused tech development. _________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
Last edited by Sirius_Alpha on 17th April 2014, 11:05 am; edited 1 time in total | |
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 17th April 2014, 11:02 am | |
| WFIRST-AFTA Science
-Baryon acoustic oscillations -Weak lensing -Supernovae -Microlensing census -Coronography -Guest observer programme
AFTA Telescope Addresses Many of the Enduring Questions of Astrophysics 1. Frontiers of knowledge. - What is the universe accelerating? - What is dark matter? - What are the properties of neutrinos? 2. Cosmoc order: Exoplanets - How diverse are planetary systems? - Do habitable worlds exist around other stars, and can we identify the telltale signs of life on an exoplanet? - How do circumstellar disks evolve and form planetary systems? 3. Understanding our origins. - How did the Universe begin? - What were the first objects to light up the Universe, and when did they do it? - How do cosmic structures form and evolve? - What are the connections between dark and luminous matter? - What is the fossil record of galaxy assembly from the first stars to the present? 4. Cosmic order: Stars+Galaxies - What controls the masas-energy-chemical cycles within galaxies? - How do the lives of massive stars end? - What are the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae and how do they explode?
Cosmic Order: Exoplanet Science - Discovery science: Identification and characterisation of nearby habitable planets. - ExoPAG community meeting: strong endorsement of coronograph. _________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
Last edited by Sirius_Alpha on 17th April 2014, 11:04 am; edited 1 time in total | |
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 17th April 2014, 11:02 am | |
| WFIRST-AFTA Exoplanet Science
Microlensing Survey - Monitor 200 million Galactic Bulge stars every 15 minutes for 1.2 years. - 2800 cold exoplanets. - 300 Earth-mass planets. - 40 Mars-mass or smaller planets. - 40 free-floating Earth-mass planets. - Inventory the outer parts of planetary systems, potentially the source of water for habitable planets. - Quantify the frequency of solar systems like our own. - Confirm and improve Kepler's estimate of the frequency of potentially habitable planets. - When combined with Kepler, provide statistical constraints on the densities and heavy atmospheres of potentially habitable planets.
High Contrast Imaging - Survey up to 200 nearby stars for planets and debris disks at contrast levels of 10^-9 on angular scales > 0.2''. R=70 spectra and olarisation between 400 - 900 nm. - Detailed characterisation of up to a dozen giant planets. Discovery and
characterisation of several Neptunes. Detection of massive debris disks. - Provide direct images of planets around our nearest neighbours similar to our own giant planets. - Provide important insights about the physics of planetary atmospheres through
comparative planetology. - Assay the population of massive debris disks that will serve as sources of noise and confusion for a flagship mission. - Develop crutial technologies for a future mission, and provide practical demonstration of these technologies in flight.
12 known Jupiters detectable. ~20 potential Saturns detectable. ~30 potential Sat/Nep detectable. ~50 potential Neptunes detectable. _________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 17th April 2014, 11:05 am | |
| Debris Disk Imaging HST has imaged ~2 dozen debris disks > 1000 zodi. AFTA will - Measure the amount and distribution of circumstellar dust - Measure the large scale structure of disks, revealing the prsence of asteroid belts and gaps due to unseen planets. - Measure the size and distribution of grains. - Provide measurements of the zodiacal cloud in other systems.
WFIRST-AFTA will detect disks to 10 zodi around nearby stars. - 1000 x more sensitive than HST - Important for planetary systems and for future Earth imaging missions. WFIRST+LBT-I are needed: LBT-I gives total dust amounts; WFIRST then gives reflectance; both together give debris properties. _________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 17th April 2014, 11:06 am | |
| Spacecraft status/concept - 2.4 metre aperture primary - Single channel widefield instrument, 18 HgCdTe detectors; integral field unit spectrometer incorporated in wide field for SNe observing, exoplanet coronograph. - Overall mass ~6300 kg (CBE) with components assembled in modules; ~2550 kg propellant; ~3750 kg (CBE dry mass). - Primary strucutre - graphite epoxy - Downlink rate - continuous 150 mbps Ka-band to ground station. - Thermal - passive radiator - Power - 2800 W - GN&C -reaction wheels and thruster unloading - Propulsion - bipropellant - GEO synchronous orbit. - Launcher: Atlas V541 (or Falcon 9 Heavy). "One of the goals is to have this robotically serviced." Standard interface bus for refueling.
What's next? $54M awarded this year (FY2014), reducing risk: - Near-IR detector development - Coronograph risk reduction/tech improvement - Science studies, requirements, design work Community engagement: PAG's conferences and outreach - Special sessions held at Jan and Jun AAS conferences. - Next conference planned for Nov 17-22, 2014, in Pasadena. SDT/Project study complete Jan 2015, Costing in Feb. Presented to CAA in 2016. Phase A start FY2017 and launch in 2024?
_________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 30th May 2014, 7:45 pm | |
| _________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 29th December 2014, 3:58 pm | |
| http://arxiv.org/abs/1409.2759NASA's proposed WFIRST-AFTA mission will discover thousands of exoplanets with separations from the habitable zone out to unbound planets, using the technique of gravitational microlensing. The Study Analysis Group 11 of the NASA Exoplanet Program Analysis Group was convened to explore scientific programs that can be undertaken now, and in the years leading up to WFIRST's launch, in order to maximize the mission's scientific return and to reduce technical and scientific risk. This report presents those findings, which include suggested precursor Hubble Space Telescope observations, a ground-based, NIR microlensing survey, and other programs to develop and deepen community scientific expertise prior to the mission | |
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Sirius_Alpha Admin
Number of posts : 4319 Location : Earth Registration date : 2008-04-06
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 8th April 2015, 5:19 pm | |
| _________________ Caps Lock: Cruise control for 'Cool'!
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 10th January 2016, 3:13 pm | |
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 18th February 2016, 8:36 pm | |
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Lazarus dF star
Number of posts : 3337 Registration date : 2008-06-12
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 12th March 2019, 3:11 am | |
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 31st August 2019, 1:35 pm | |
| Good news, still on the road ! https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/telescope-for-nasa-s-wfirst-mission-advances-to-new-phase-of-developmentTelescope for NASA’s WFIRST Mission Advances to New Phase of Development The telescope for WFIRST has successfully passed its preliminary design review, a major milestone for the mission. This means the telescope has met the performance, schedule, and budget requirements to advance to the next stage of development, where the team will finalize its design. (...) WFIRST’s Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) will directly image exoplanets by blocking out the light of their host stars. To date, astronomers have directly imaged only a small fraction of exoplanets, so WFIRST’s advanced techniques will expand our inventory and enable us to learn more about them. Results from the CGI will provide the first opportunity to observe and characterize exoplanets similar to those in our solar system, located between three and 10 times Earth’s distance from the Sun, or from about midway to Jupiter to about the distance of Saturn in our solar system. | |
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Lazarus dF star
Number of posts : 3337 Registration date : 2008-06-12
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 11th February 2020, 7:21 pm | |
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Lazarus dF star
Number of posts : 3337 Registration date : 2008-06-12
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 21st May 2020, 6:31 am | |
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Led_Zep SuperJovian
Number of posts : 721 Location : France Registration date : 2011-09-09
| Subject: Re: WFIRST 31st March 2021, 5:50 pm | |
| https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-s-roman-mission-predicted-to-find-thousands-of-transiting-planetsNASA’s Roman Mission Predicted to Find 100,000 Transiting Planets NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will create enormous cosmic panoramas, helping us answer questions about the evolution of our universe. Astronomers also expect the mission to find thousands of planets using two different techniques as it surveys a wide range of stars in the Milky Way. Roman will locate these potential new worlds, or exoplanets, by tracking the amount of light coming from distant stars over time. In a technique called gravitational microlensing, a spike in light signals that a planet may be present. On the other hand, if the light from a star dims periodically, it could be because there is a planet crossing the face of a star as it completes an orbit. This technique is called the transit method. By employing these two methods to find new worlds, astronomers will capture an unprecedented view of the composition and arrangement of planetary systems across our galaxy. | |
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| Subject: Re: WFIRST | |
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| WFIRST | |
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