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HST & Beyond Report HST and Beyond HST and Beyond Exploration and the Search for Origins: A Vision for Ultraviolet-Optical-Infrared Space Astronomy Exploration and the Search for Origins: A Vision for Ultraviolet-Optical-Infrared Space Astronomy THE “HST & BEYOND” COMMITTEE ALAN DRESSLER, CHAIR SHRINIVAS KULKARNI Carnegie Observatories California Institute of Technology ROBERT A. BROWN SIMON J. LILLY Space Telescope Science Institute University of Toronto ARTHUR F. DAVIDSEN BRUCE H. MARGON Johns Hopkins University University of Washington RICHARD S. ELLIS CAROLYN C. PORCO Cambridge University University of Arizona WENDY L. FREEDMAN DOUGLAS O. RICHSTONE Carnegie Observatories University of Michigan RICHARD F. GREEN H. S. (PETER) STOCKMAN National Optical Astronomy Observatories Space Telescope Science Institute MICHAEL G. HAUSER HARLEY A. THRONSON, JR. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center University of Wyoming and currently JOHN L. TONRY Space Telescope Science Institute Massachusetts Institute of Technology ROBERT P. KIRSHNER JAMES TRURAN Harvard University University of Chicago EDWARD J. WEILER NASA Headquarters (ex officio) Exploration and the Search for Origins: A Vision for Ultraviolet- Optical-Infrared Space Astronomy REPORT OF THE “HST & BEYOND” COMMITTEE ALAN DRESSLER, EDITOR Carnegie Observatories MAY , ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY Washington, D.C. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), a non-profit organization, operates the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under contract for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Suite Washington, D.C. CONTENTS The “HST & Beyond” Committee............................................................... ii Preface and Acknowledgements .................................................................. vii Executive Summary ..................................................................................... ix Acronyms .................................................................................................. xiii I. A Vision for the Future of Ultraviolet-Optical-Infrared Astronomy from Space ............................................................................................... 1 1. Astronomy: Its Rewards for Science and Society ................................... 1 2. Goals for the Twenty-First Century: Seeking Our Origins and Exploring the Exotic in Nature ............................................................. 7 2.1 Visiting a Time When Galaxies Were Young.................................... 7 2.2 The Search for Earth-Like Planets and Life ................................... 14 2.3 Tools for the Jobs ........................................................................... 18 II. The Proposed Program .......................................................................... 21 3. Ultraviolet-Optical-Infrared Space Observatories for the New Millennium ................................................................................. 21 3.1 Summary of Recommendations ..................................................... 21 3.2 A Sustained Hubble Space Telescope ............................................. 22 3.3 A Large Infrared-Optimized Space Telescope................................. 23 Addendum: The BMDO/NTOT 4m Telescope ...................................... 26 3.4 Development and Demonstration of Space Interferometry ........... 28 4. Policy Considerations .......................................................................... 29 4.1 Background and Motivation .......................................................... 29 4.2 A Balanced Space Astronomy Program: Observatories, “PI Only” Satellites, and Dedicated Missions ................................ 30 4.3 Breaking the Cost Curve: Major Science Within a Budget ............ 31 4.4 Space Astronomy as an International Adventure ............................ 32 4.5 Sharing the Adventure: Inviting the Public Along ......................... 33 4.6 Maintaining America’s Technological Base ..................................... 34 5. Coda: First Steps Toward a Next Generation Space Telescope and the Searches for Extra-Solar Terrestrial Planets .................................... 35 III. The Scientific Case for the “Origins” Program ..................................... 37 6. Defining the Future: The Landscape of U.S. Space Astronomy in 2005 ................................................................................................ 37 7. Galaxy Formation in the High-Redshift Universe ............................... 43 7.1 Current Capabilities ...................................................................... 43 7.2 Fundamental Questions in High-Redshift Astrophysics ................ 44 7.3 Generic Capabilities That Are Required ........................................ 45 7.4 A Baseline Science Program for Studying Galaxies with z > 2 ........ 47 7.5 The Advantages of Space: Estimated Sensitivities for Future Ground-Based, Airborne, and Space-Based Observatories ............. 50 8. The Search for Earth-Like Planets ....................................................... 55 8.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 55 8.2 Current Scientific Theory of Planet Formation ............................. 55 8.3 Direct and Indirect Discovery ........................................................ 57 8.4 Indirect Detection of Earth-Like Planets ....................................... 58 8.5 Direct Detection of Earth-Like Planets ......................................... 60 8.6 A Space Infrared Interferometer..................................................... 61 8.7 Spectra of Earth-Like Planets ......................................................... 63 8.8 Resolved Pictures of Earth-Like Planets ......................................... 64 Selected Readings ................................................................................ 65 IV. A Broad Scientific Program for Future Space Facilities ......................... 67 9. A General Astrophysics Program for a Large Filled-Aperture, Infrared-Optimized Space Telescope and for the Post-2005 HST ....... 67 9.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 67 9.2 Our Solar System........................................................................... 70 9.3 Extra-Solar Planetary Material and Circumstellar Gas ................... 71 9.4 Transition Objects: Brown Dwarfs ................................................ 71 9.5 The Interstellar Medium and the Birth of Stars ............................. 71 9.6 Stellar Populations ......................................................................... 72 9.7 Stellar Death and Transfiguration .................................................. 74 9.8 Infrared Emission from Normal Galaxies ...................................... 74 9.9 Active Galaxies .............................................................................. 75 9.10 Chemical Evolution of the Interstellar Medium as a Function of Redshift ................................................................... 76 9.11 Galaxy Dynamics in the Early Universe ...................................... 77 9.12 Cosmology.................................................................................. 78 10. Space Interferometry: A Powerful New Tool for Astrophysics ............ 80 10.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 80 10.2 Why Space-Based Interferometers? ............................................. 82 10.3 High Resolution Imaging ........................................................... 84 10.4 High Accuracy Astrometry ......................................................... 85 10.5 Common Requirements for Space-Based Visual and Infrared Interferometers .............................................................. 86 10.6 Current Baseline Description of Space-Based Visual and Infrared Interferometers .............................................................. 87 10.7 Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................... 88 References ................................................................................................... 89 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In September , AURA appointed, at the behest of the Space Telescope Institute Council, and with support from NASA, the HST & Beyond Com- mittee “to study possible missions and programs for UVOIR astronomy in space for the first decades of the twenty-first century” and to “initiate a pro- cess that will produce a new consensus vision of the long term goals of this sci- entific enterprise.” The eighteen committee members were primarily chosen for their interest in and experience with UVOIR observations from space, in- cluding the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), ASTRO, IRAS, and IUE. The focus of the Committee was to be science opportunities, with less em- phasis on technical capabilities. In accordance with our charge, the Commit- tee assumed that NASA’s currently operating and planned major programs in UVOIR astronomy, including HST, SIRTF, and SOFIA, will have been implemented. We have therefore undertaken to find the scientifically compel- ling next steps. Committee meetings were held at Goddard Space Flight Center on April -, , at the University of Michigan on August and September , , and at the Carnegie Observatories on May -, . A subset of
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