Cosmic Origins
Searching for answers about our universe and its origins

Habitable Worlds Observatory
(HWO)



PIA19830: Pantheon of Planets Similar to Earth (Artist's Concept). Image Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

"Inspired by the vision of searching for signatures of life on planets outside of our solar system, and by the transformative capability such a telescope would have for a wide range of astrophysics, the priority recommendation in the frontier category for space is a large (~6 m diameter) IR/O/UV telescope with high-contrast (10-10) imaging and spectroscopy. This is an ambitious mission, of a scale comparable to the HST and JWST space telescopes. It is also one that will be revolutionary, and that worldwide only NASA is positioned to lead." (Text source: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 [Astro2020])

Ultraviolet Astrophysics

Ultraviolet wavelengths are important to answer many questions in astrophysics. In addition to being sensitive to optical and near-infrared, Habitable Worlds Observatory will be sensitive to ultraviolet light.

White Papers

  • Lyman UV White Paper (non-peer-reviewed) [PDF]
  • LUVOIR Final Report Chapter 6 [PDF]
News
17 September 2024
Galaxies SIG Seminar: Galactic Paleontology in the Era of HWO | September 18th 11:00a – 12:00p ET
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Diffuse Gas in Cosmic Ecosystems SIG Seminar: New Constraints on Thermodynamic Profiles of the Outer Circumgalactic Medium | September 26th 4:00p ET
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CRESST Scientist of the Month: Swara Ravindranath, Cosmic Origins Deputy Chief Scientist
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Save the Date: Cosmic Origins Virtual Town Hall | October 30th, 2024, 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
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