March 15, 2024 8-10 PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: SPHEREx: Zooming Out to See the Big Picture
Lecturer: James Bock
Position: Professor
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
SPHEREx is a NASA space telescope that will observe the sky in near-infrared light, taking images that cover the entire sky four times over its 2-year mission. The telescope incorporates a novel spectrograph for splitting the incoming light into its constituent colors, providing a detailed picture of the whole sky across 102 infrared color bands. This unique dataset will provide insight on everything from how our solar system formed to the very origin of our universe. SPHEREx will survey the abundance of water ice in the early formation of planetary systems, chart the light produced by galaxies over cosmic history, and probe the exotic physics associated with the Big Bang. Having recently completed assembly and testing, the scientific instrument is beginning integration with the spacecraft in preparation for a launch in early 2025.