Related papers: The Emergence of the Modern Universe: Tracing the …

The ultraviolet (UV) astronomy is a very demanded branch of space astronomy. Many dozens of short-term UV-experiments in space, as well as long-term observatories, have brought a very important knowledge on the physics and chemistry of the…

With this paper we participate to the call for ideas issued by the European Space Agency to define the Science Program and plan for space missions from 2035 to 2050. In particular we present five science cases where major advancements can…

The World Space Observatory-Ultraviolet (WSO-UV) will provide access to the UV range during the next decade. The instrumentation on board will allow to carry out high resolution imaging, high sensitivity imaging, high resolution (R~55000)…

The World Space Observatory Project is a new space mission concept, grown out the needs of the Astronomical community to have access to the part of the electromagnetic spectrum where all known physics can be studied on all possible time…

The Hubble Space Telescope is the only high-resolution ultraviolet spectroscopic facility that will exist until the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) achieves first light in the mid-2040s. We describe a coherent class of science, coupling…

I describe the capabilities of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, scheduled for May 2009 installation on the Hubble Space Telescope. With a factor-of-ten increase in far-UV throughput for moderate resolution spectroscopy, COS will enable a…

For the first time in history, humans have reached the point where it is possible to construct a revolutionary space-based observatory that has the capability to find dozens of Earth-like worlds, and possibly some with signs of life. This…

We present compelling arguments -- focusing on galaxy science -- for preserving the main imagers and operational modes of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) for as long as is technically feasible, to assure maximum complementarity to the…

The Hubble Space Telescope has produced astonishing science over the past thirty years. Hubble's productivity can continue to soar for years to come provided some worn out components get upgraded. While powerful new ground-based and space…

Hubble is still in prime observing condition for making transformative discoveries in UV astronomy. In this white paper we describe the science case for a deep (S/N>30) UV spectroscopic survey with HST/COS targeting approximately 20 QSOs at…

The investigation of the emergence of life is a major endeavour of science. Astronomy is contributing to it in three fundamental manners: (1) by measuring the chemical enrichment of the Universe, (2) by investigating planet formation and…

In this paper, I discuss the capabilities and limitations of an 8-10 meter ultraviolet/optical telescope in space, the proposed successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, in the context of galaxy studies. The exquisite spatial resolution and…

I examine possible futures for UV astronomy, in view of the past history and collected knowledge of the UV sky through various missions since the early days of Space Astronomy. The last all-sky survey has been by TD-1 in the early 1970s,…

The World Space Observatory/Ultraviolet (WSO/UV) represents a new mission implementation model for large space missions for astrophysics. The process has been brought up to enable, fully scientific needs driven, a logic to be applied to the…

With the launch of JWST and the upcoming installation of extremely large telescopes, the first galaxies in our Universe will finally be revealed. Their light will be dominated by massive stars, which peak in in the ultra-violet (UV) part of…

The past decade has seen an explosion of discoveries and new insights into the diffuse gas within galaxies, galaxy clusters, and the filaments composing the Cosmic Web. A new decade will bring fresh opportunities to further this progress…

The Epoch of Reionization marks the last major phase transition in the early Universe, during which the majority of neutral hydrogen once filling the intergalactic medium was ionized by the first galaxies. The James Webb Space Telescope…

The cosmic microwave background provides an image of the Universe 0.4 million years after the big bang, when atomic hydrogen formed out of free electrons and protons. One of the primary goals of observational cosmology is to obtain…

Through a combination of deep wide-field imaging and multi-object spectroscopy, the Next Generation Space Telescope will be able to chart with unprecedented accuracy the evolution of cosmic structures after the `dark ages' (z<5), when…

This paper reports on the current status of the World Space Observatory WSO-UV, a space mission for UV astronomy, planned for launch at the beginning of next decade. It is based on a 1.7 m telescope, with focal plane instruments including…