Astronomy & Telescopes

Ultraviolet Technology To Prepare For The Habitable Worlds Observatory

By Keith Cowing

Status Report

astro-ph.IM

August 15, 2024

Filed under astro-ph.IM, astronomy, atmosphere, exoplanet, Habitable Worlds Observatory, imaging, Spectroscopy, telescope

Ultraviolet Technology To Prepare For The Habitable Worlds Observatory — A sketch demonstrating the interactions of UV light with different layers of a planetary atmosphere. The ultraviolet stellar spectrum drives photochemistry (FUV and NUV photons, 100 – 320 nm) and atmospheric escape (EUV photons, 10 – 90 nm) on orbiting planets. The EUV spectrum is calculated from chromospheric and coronal lines in the FUV spectrum, with the 100 – 115 nm band providing unique diagnostics for temperature and abundances. The host star spectra are used to predict the most promising habitable planet candidates and to interpret atmospheric spectra. — astro-ph.IM

We present here the current state of a collection of promising ultraviolet technologies in preparation for the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Working with experts representing a significant number of groups working in the ultraviolet, we summarize some of the leading science drivers, present an argument for a 100 angstrom blue wavelength cutoff, and gather current state of the art of UV technologies.

We present the state of the art of contamination control, a crucial piece of the UV instrument plan.

We explore next steps with individual technologies, as well as present paths forward with systems level testing and development.

Sarah Tuttle (1), Mark Matsumura (2), David R. Ardila (3), Pin Chen (3), Michael Davis (4), Camden Ertley (4), Emily Farr (5), Brian Fleming (5), Kevin France (5), Cynthia Froning (4), Fabien Grisé (6), Erika Hamden (7), John Hennessy (3), Keri Hoadley (8), Stephan R. McCandliss (9), Drew M. Miles (3), Shouleh Nikzad (3 and 10), Manuel Quijada (2), Isu Ravi (9), Luis Rodriguez de Marcos (11), Paul Scowen (2), Oswald Siegmund (12), Carlos J. Vargas (7), Dmitry Vorobiev (5), Emily M. Witt (5) ((1) University of Washington Seattle, (2) Goddard Space Flight Center, (3) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (4) Southwest Research Institute, (5) University of Colorado Boulder, (6) The Pennsylvania State University, (7) Steward Observatory University of Arizona, (8) The University of Iowa, (9) Johns Hopkins University, (10) NASA Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group (11) The Catholic University of America, (12) University of California – Berkeley)

Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Cite as: arXiv:2408.07242 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2408.07242v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2408.07242
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Submission history
From: Sarah Tuttle
[v1] Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:53:43 UTC (34,072 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.07242

Astrobiology

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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