Written by The Spectroscopic Probes of Quantitative Reionization (SPQR) Team
At the 246th AAS Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, we invite interested attendants to come to the second Roman Spectroscopy Data Challenge, which will take place on Tuesday, June 10, 9–11 AM Alaska Time at the Egan Convention Center, Room 2.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will look at the universe in a new way. One of its powerful tools is something called slitless spectroscopy. Instead of collecting light through a narrow slit, Roman will take spectra of everything in its field of view at once. This is great for covering large areas of the sky and studying many objects at the same time—but it also means the data will look and behave differently from what most astronomers are used to.
To help the community get ready, we’ve created the Roman Spectroscopy Data Challenge—a three-part series where researchers can learn by doing. These sessions are meant to make things easier, not overwhelming. The goal is simple: help people build confidence working with Roman-like spectroscopic data before the telescope launches and before the first call for proposals.
This kind of data will support all kinds of science. Roman will help map the structure of the universe by measuring redshifts of millions of galaxies. It will help find distant quasars and black holes in the early universe. It will also be used to study stars in our own galaxy, find supernovae, and explore how galaxies form and evolve. Whatever your science interests are, if you plan to use Roman spectroscopy, these challenges are meant to help you get started.
The Three-Part Series
In the first session at AAS 245, we kept things simple. We started with known galaxy and stellar spectra and adjusted them to match the lower resolution of Roman’s grism mode. This gave participants a realistic look at what Roman spectra will look like. Then we showed how to estimate redshifts from these spectra and how spectral resolution affects what we can measure. There were no complex simulations or crowded images—just clean, one-object-at-a-time examples to get comfortable with the basics.
In the second session at AAS 246, we’ll take the next step. This time we’ll look at simulated 2D slitless images. These images show what Roman might actually observe. We’ll focus on how to extract a 1D spectrum from one of these 2D images. That means finding where the light from a source has been spread out, tracing it, and turning that trace into something we can analyze. We’ll also talk about how to subtract background light and use simple extraction methods. A demonstration will walk through this process using one bright, easy-to-follow example.
The data challenge website can be accessed here.
Later, in the final session at AAS 247, we’ll bring everything together. Participants will receive a full Roman-like image with several injected sources. This will be a chance to practice extracting multiple spectra and measuring redshifts and line fluxes in a setting closer to real science.
Each session builds on the last. The idea is to take things one step at a time, so by the end, participants will have a working understanding of how to approach Roman spectroscopic data. Whether you’re planning to study galaxies, stars, or something else entirely, this series is meant to help you get started with the tools you’ll need.
Astrobite edited by: Janette Suherli
Featured image credit: GSFC/SVS
