NASA telescope to reveal the mysteries that lie beyond the thick clouds of the Milky Way
Our Milky Way galaxy is so large that its disk of stars spans more than 100,000 light-years. It is also estimated to contain more than 100 billion stars. But many of these stars are covered in dust. The ESA’s retired Gaia spacecraft only mapped around two billion stars. Gaia observed these stars in visible light. But to get to the denser dust-covered parts, we’ll need something more. That’s where Roman comes in.
Roman is set to launch in May 2027, but we could see an earlier launch as the team could get everything ready as early as fall 2026. Roman has a five-year primary mission. But during the course of its first two years, it will carry out a survey of the Milky Way. This is called the Galactic Plane Survey.
The Galactic Plane Survey will cover about 700 square degrees along the glowing band of the Milky Way. In area, this is comparable to about 3,500 full moons. Roman’s infrared capabilities will enable it to pierce through the dust in these regions to possibly observe up to 20 billion stars. In total, the survey will last 29 days but will be spread across two years.
The survey will reveal never-before-seen details of our Milky Way galaxy. This will help scientists understand more about the stars in the Milky Way, how they form, and how they interact with their surroundings.
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