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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.

SAG Membership

Roberta Paladini
Kyle Cook
Benne Holwerda
Estelle Janin
Steven Finkelstein

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An illustration of Sun-like star HD 181327 and its surrounding debris disk. The star is at top right. It is surrounded by a far larger debris disk that forms an incomplete ellpitical path and is cut off at right. There’s a huge cavity between the star and the disk. The debris disk is shown in shades of light gray. Toward the top and left, there are finer, more discrete points in a range of sizes. The disk appears hazier and smokier at the bottom. The star is bright white at center, with a hazy blue region around it. The background of space is black. The label Artist's Concept appears at lower left.