5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Pacific
The Astro Society is proud to launch Astronomy@250 with a free public celebration honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman (1925–2018) — astronomer, visionary, advocate, and one of the most consequential figures in the history of modern astronomy.
As we commemorate 250 years of American astronomy, we begin with Nancy Grace Roman because she exemplifies how a single visionary can change not only what we discover about the universe, but who has the opportunity to discover it. Roman’s story reminds us that the history of American astronomy is not simply a history of discoveries. It is also a history of the people whose vision, leadership, and perseverance made those discoveries possible.
Roman is often remembered as the “Mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,” but that title captures only part of her extraordinary impact. At a time when women were routinely discouraged from scientific careers, she persevered, becoming NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy and helping establish the nation’s entire program of space astronomy. Rather than pursuing only her own scientific research, Roman made the remarkable decision to build opportunities for thousands of others by creating the infrastructure that allowed astronomy to flourish from space.
Our celebration is especially timely. Just days after Astronomy@250 concludes, the launch window for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to open. Named in her honor, the observatory will search for thousands of exoplanets, investigate dark energy, and map the universe on scales never before possible. It is a fitting tribute: the telescope bearing her name exists because of the future she imagined decades earlier.
Looking back across 250 years of American astronomy, Nancy Grace Roman reminds us that the future of discovery is built not only by those who make history, but by those who create opportunities for others to make it. That is the legacy we celebrate — and the future we hope to inspire.
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| 8/27/2026 |    |