NASA罗曼空间望远镜光学性能超预期近30%

NASA的南希·格蕾丝·罗曼空间望远镜在工程团队完成精密光学调整后，性能表现超过预期约30%1。通过将二级镜移动仅为人类头发直径1/16的距离，团队将望远镜的光学系统调至近乎完美对准状态1。宽视场仪器的光学误差从原定要求的90纳米RMS成功降至63纳米RMS1。

NASA戈达德高级光学工程师阿尔登·朱林表示："我们将二级镜移动了约人类头发直径的1/16"1。NASA戈达德太空飞行中心宽视场仪器系统工程师戴夫·希基指出："所有罗曼空间望远镜的巨幅巡天观测都将依赖于宽视场仪器"1。这一成就为望远镜后续开展科学观测奠定了坚实基础。

Engineers at NASA have successfully fine-tuned the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's optical systems to exceed anticipated performance levels by approximately 30 percent 1. The achievement followed precise adjustments to the secondary mirror, which was repositioned by a distance equivalent to roughly one-sixteenth the diameter of a human hair 1. These calibrations brought the Wide Field Instrument's optical error from a required specification of 90 nanometers down to 63 nanometers 1.

The telescope was launched on August 30, with its Wide Field Instrument activated in September 1. According to Dave Hickey, a systems engineer for the Wide Field Instrument at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, "All of Roman's sweeping surveys will rely on the Wide Field Instrument" 1. Alden Jurling, a senior optical engineer at Goddard, emphasized the precision involved in the adjustment, stating "We moved the secondary mirror by about one-sixteenth of the diameter of a human hair" 1. The enhanced optical alignment positions the telescope to pursue its scientific objectives, including investigations into dark matter and dark energy 1.