Roman Coronagraph Captures First Large Magellanic Cloud Images After 8-Hour Stability Test
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · Sep 30
Roman Coronagraph Captures First Large Magellanic Cloud Images After 8-Hour Stability Test
1 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Sep 30
Summary
Sept. 22 and 27 observations gave NASA’s Roman coronagraph its first cosmic-light data, including a faint star and then a star-rich field in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Those tests followed fine-guidance checks from Sept. 15 to 21 that held Roman steadier than 1/100,000 of a degree for up to 8 hours during coronagraph operations.
The first image mainly verified focus, while the second confirmed pointing after engineers cooled the detectors for better sensitivity; earlier warm-detector runs were meant to avoid contamination sticking to them.
The coronagraph is a technology demonstrator designed to block starlight so Roman can eventually study faint exoplanets and dusty disks around nearby stars, with more complex commissioning tests still ahead.