NASA's Roman to Peer Into Cosmic 'Lenses' to Better Define Dark Matter

NASA's Roman to peer into cosmic 'lenses' to better define dark matter

Dark matter affects how stars move within galaxies, how galaxies build up over time, and how everything in the universe is held together—but no existing tool has directly detected it. While dark matter does not reflect, absorb, or emit light, it can still be indirectly observed by telescopes.

Study: Roman Telescope may be transformative in better defining dark matter

In a new study, Yale’s Priyamvada Natarajan and other astronomers predict the new Roman telescope will elevate the ability to study dark matter.

NASA's Roman to Peer Into Cosmic 'Lenses' to Better Define Dark Matter (STScI - Space Telescope Science Institute)

) A funky effect Einstein predicted, known as gravitational lensing - when a foreground galaxy magnifies more distant galaxies behind it - will soon become common when NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations in 2027 and produces vast surveys of the cosmos. A particular subset of gravitational lenses, known as strong lenses, is the focus of a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal led by Bryce Wedig, a graduat…

NASA's New Telescope to Reveal Dark Matter Using Cosmic Lenses and Gravitational Forces

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to begin operations in 2027, will revolutionize our understanding of dark matter by using gravitational lenses to study this mysterious force. By harnessing the immense power of gravitational lensing—a phenomenon predicted by Einstein—Roman will examine the mass distribution of galaxies and provide the most detailed images of the universe ever captured. This technique, which involves studying how gal…

NASA’s Roman to Peer Into Cosmic ‘Lenses’ to Better Define Dark Matter

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