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Managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, UVEX will be under the scientific guidance of Fiona Harrison, a distinguished UC Berkeley alumna and a current professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology. This mission is set to complement existing and upcoming astronomical surveys across other wavelengths, including the European Space Agency's Euclid mission and NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, thereby enriching our multi-wavelength understanding of the cosmos.
UVEX's groundbreaking all-sky UV survey aims to shed light on hot, massive stars, many of which form binary systems. Such systems are crucial for understanding stellar evolution, as the more massive star often strips material from its companion, exposing its UV-emitting core. This process, along with the mapping of "stripped" stars in nearby galaxies, will be a focal point of the mission.
Additionally, UVEX will be equipped with a UV spectrograph, collaboratively developed by UC Berkeley and Caltech. This instrument will capture detailed spectra of massive stars and supernovae, providing invaluable data on the life cycle of stars and the formation of galaxies.
Daniel Weisz, a science team leader for UVEX and an associate professor of astronomy at UC Berkeley, emphasized the mission's innovative capacity to cover the entire sky from UV to infrared wavelengths. This unprecedented scope will allow scientists to study transient UV light sources, such as the aftermath of neutron star mergers, which are often associated with gravitational wave events.
The mission's focus extends to low-mass galaxies, which are challenging to study using traditional optical or infrared telescopes due to their faintness and the redshifting of their UV emissions. Weisz highlighted UVEX's sensitivity to these galaxies, aiming to map out their distribution and thereby enhance our understanding of dark matter distribution in the local universe.
UC Berkeley's extensive involvement in UVEX, including contributions from professors and researchers specializing in various aspects of astrophysics, underscores the university's leading role in space science research and mission implementation. The mission's delayed launch to 2030, due to budgetary constraints, reflects the ambitious scale of this endeavor, which requires extensive preparation to ensure its success.
As UVEX prepares to join the ranks of significant space missions, it promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe, from the genesis and evolution of binary stars to the detailed study of supernovae. Its launch will mark a significant milestone in UV astronomy, expanding our view of the cosmos in unparalleled detail.
Related Links
UVEX at Caltech
Understanding Time and Space
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