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Red Limit

The Cosmic Origins Program Office has formed the HWO Red Limit Science Analysis Group (SAG) to investigate the science and technology issues that bear upon the red-end of wavelength sensitivity for the observatory.

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About Red Limit SAG

To Determine Red-Wavelength Limits Required to Pursue HWO Science Objectives

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be the next flagship mission of NASA Astrophysics capable of addressing fundamental questions concerning galaxy growth, cosmology, the evolution of elements, planetary systems, and more.

The wavelength coverage of this observatory will have important implications for the science cases. The goal of this SAG is to analyze the current science cases for HWO to determine the red-wavelength limits required to pursue the science objectives, how the near-infrared sensitivity affects these science cases, and to synthesize the science cases that call for near-infrared sensitivity.

Habitable Worlds Observatory about To Determine Red-Wavelength Limits Required to Pursue HWO Science Objectives
A young star-forming region is filled with wispy orange, red, and blue layers of gas and dust. The upper left corner of the image is filled with mostly orange dust, and within that orange dust, there are several small red plumes of gas that extend from the top left to the bottom right, at the same angle. The center of the image is filled with mostly blue gas. At the center, there is one particularly bright star, that has an hourglass shadow above and below it. To the right of that is what looks a vertical eye-shaped crevice with a bright star at the center. The gas to the right of the crevice is a darker orange. Small points of light are sprinkled across the field, brightest sources in the field have extensive eight-pointed diffraction spikes that are characteristic of the Webb Telescope.
Reflection Nebula and Star Forming Region In this image of the Serpens Nebula from the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found a grouping of aligned protostellar outflows within one small region (the top left corner). In the Webb image, these jets are signified by bright clumpy streaks that appear red, which are shockwaves from the jet hitting surrounding gas and dust. The Serpens Nebula, located 1,300 light-years from Earth, is home to a particularly dense cluster of newly forming stars (~100,000 years old), some of which will eventually grow to the mass of our Sun. This region has been home to other coincidental discoveries, including the flapping “Bat Shadow,” which earned its name when 2020 data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope revealed a shadow from a star’s planet-forming disk to flap, or shift. This feature is visible at the center of the Webb image. To the right of the “Bat Shadow” lies another intriguing feature—an eye-shaped crevice, which appears as if a star is bursting through. However, astronomers say looks may be deceiving here. This could just be gases of different densities layered on top of one another, similar to what is seen in the famous Pillars of Creation. And to the right of that, an extremely dark patch could be a similar occurrence. This gas and dust are so dense in comparison to the rest of the region, no near-infrared light is getting through.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI)

The SAG will clearly articulate the science that would be lost if this wavelength were not accessible due to design trades in HWO that forfeited this spectral wavelength range, and the technology and mission architecture considerations that bear upon the near-infrared sensitivity of the observatory.

The outcomes of the analysis will be communicated to Communicate to NASA and the astrophysics community through reports to the COPAG Executive Committee, Cosmic Origins IR Science and Technology Interest Group (IR STIG), the HWO Community Science and Instrument Team (CSIT), and the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office (HTMPO). In particular, this Science Analysis Group (SAG) will produce essential input for CSIT and HTMPO deliberations on the importance of near-infrared sensitivity for the goals of Habitable Worlds Observatory.

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Roberta Paladini
Kyle Cook
Benne Holwerda
Estelle Janin
Steven Finkelstein

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Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.