Great Observatories: The Past and Future of Panchromatic Astrophysics

TL;DR

This paper reviews NASA's Great Observatories, highlighting their role in multi-wavelength space astronomy, and discusses the implications of their aging and decommissioning for future scientific capabilities.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the scientific importance of the Great Observatories and emphasizes the need for future multi-wavelength space telescopes.

Findings

Great Observatories have enabled broad astrophysical research.

Decommissioning will reduce access to key wavelengths.

Multi-wavelength observations are crucial for future discoveries.

Abstract

NASA's Great Observatories have opened up the electromagnetic spectrum from space, providing sustained access to wavelengths not accessible from the ground. Together, Hubble, Compton, Chandra, and Spitzer have provided the scientific community with an agile and powerful suite of telescopes with which to attack broad scientific questions, and react to a rapidly changing scientific landscape. As the existing Great Observatories age, or are decommissioned, community access to these wavelengths will diminish, with an accompanying loss of scientific capability. This report, commissioned by the NASA Cosmic Origins, Physics of the Cosmos and Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Groups (PAGs), analyzes the importance of multi-wavelength observations from space during the epoch of the Great Observatories, providing examples that span a broad range of astrophysical investigations.