Rogue planets are extremely difficult to see but the invention of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope by NASA presents a unique opportunity to have a look at these hidden planets.
The optics of the new $4 billion space observatory are expected to offer astronomers a field of view 100 times greater than the Hubble Telescope, hopefully shedding more light on rogue planets that are also called free-floating planetary-mass objects (FFPs).
"There have been several rogue planets discovered, but to actually get a complete picture, our best bet is something like Roman. This is a totally new frontier," said Samson Johnson, Ohio State University astronomy graduate.
He leads a team that will investigate the technological capabilities of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The team hopes that this new observatory coupled with a gravitational microlensing technique, will increase their ability to detect FFPs by at least ten times more than is currently possible.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope mission is expected to be launched in 2025.
