Dr. Rhonda M. Morgan Profile

Dr. Rhonda M. Morgan

Associate Directorate Technologist at Jet Propulsion Lab

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (28)

Proceedings Article | 5 October 2023 Presentation + Paper

Exo-Earth yield of a 6m space telescope in the near-infrared

Rhonda Morgan, Dmitry Savransky, Mario Damiano, Doug Lisman, Bertrand Mennesson, Eric Mamajek, Tyler Robinson, Michael Turmon

Proceedings Volume 12680, 126801L (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677785

KEYWORDS: Coronagraphy, Exoplanets, Prior knowledge, Near infrared, Visible radiation, Simulations, Monte Carlo methods, Planets, Stars, Spectral resolution

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The Astro2020 Decadal Survey recommended a “future large IR/O/UV telescope optimized for observing habitable exoplanets and general astrophysics” that would “search for biosignatures from a robust number of about 25 habitable zone [exo]planets,” now dubbed the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). The search for biosignatures requires high quality spectra over a broad bandwidth and sufficient signal-to-noise. The combination of wavelength, spectral resolution, bandwidth, and signal-to-noise-ratio impacts the number of exo-Earths that can be spectrally characterized. Previous work (Morgan et al. 2022) evaluated the number of Earth-size, habitable zone exoplanets (denoted here as yield) that could be spectrally characterized over the wavelength range of 500 nm to 1000 nm for a 6-m diameter exoplanet direct imaging mission for coronagraph-only and hybrid coronagraph-starshade architectures for three prior knowledge cases: the nominal case of a blind-search survey, the upper-bound case of perfect prior knowledge, which is useful to determine if target depletion occurs, and the partial prior knowledge case of a hypothetical extreme precision radial velocity survey. In this paper, we extend previous exoplanet yields to include wavelengths out to 1.8 microns. Because the IWA for coronagraphs is proportional to wavelength, the achievable spectral coverage will be different for every planet detected. We present the spectral coverage achieved across individual target stars, as well as the ensemble target set, for a coronagraph-only architecture and a hybrid coronagraph + starshade architecture. We use the three prior knowledge cases. The coronagraph spectral characterization is simulated in the near infrared for each of the 10% sub-bands individually, as if it were the only spectral characterization performed during the mission, and then as a broadband spectral characterization performed in sequence over the sub-bands. The starshade achieves the broadband spectral equivalent simultaneously. We also examine the capabilities of the 60 m starshade point design and investigate the benefits of refueling.

Proceedings Article | 5 October 2023 Presentation + Paper

Quantifying the impacts of schedulability on science yield of exoplanet imaging missions

Dmitry Savransky, Russell Knight, Michael Turmon, Corey Spohn, Rhonda Morgan, Mario Damiano, Grace Genszler, Jackson Kulik

Proceedings Volume 12680, 126801K (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677102

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Monte Carlo methods, Stars, Planets, Observatories, Design and modelling

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SPIE Journal Paper | 8 December 2022 Open Access

Next-generation active telescope for space astronomy

Stefan Martin, Charles Lawrence, David Redding, Bertrand Mennesson, John Rodgers, Kevin Hurd, Rhonda Morgan, Renyu Hu, John Steeves, Jeffrey Jewell, Charles Phillips, Claudia Pineda, Ned Ferraro, Thibault L. Flinois

JATIS, Vol. 8, Issue 04, 044005, (December 2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.8.4.044005

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Space telescopes, Equipment, Mirrors, Astronomical telescopes, Astronomy, Exoplanets, Planets, Coronagraphy, Stars

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We present a design for an active telescope for space astronomy. The telescope is capable of both exoplanet work and general astronomy over wavelengths from ∼100 nm up to 5 μm. The primary mirror is 6 m in diameter, formed by 16 mirror segments that are precisely phased and supported on rigid body actuators and with segment optical surface figures fine-tuned using surface figure actuators. The active primary forms a large deformable mirror (DM) with wavefront error (WFE) correction at the entrance pupil. Thus the largest source of WFE can be removed at the source and is corrected over the entire field of view. This enables diffraction-limited performance at 400 nm and a more efficient optical system over a broader wavelength range than could be achieved by a small DM at a downstream relayed pupil. The telescope is passively cooled to below 100 K at Sun–Earth L2, enabling astronomical-background-limited observations out to 5 μm. Launched on a SpaceX Starship or alternatively National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Space Launch System, the telescope requires minimal deployments. A 72-m-diameter starshade provides a contrast ratio better than 10 − 10 for exoplanet science. Near the visible region, with a 108% working bandwidth from 300 to 1000 nm, a working distance of 120 Mm provides a 51-mas inner working angle (IWA). This band can be moved to shorter or longer wavelengths by adjusting the starshade range from the telescope. Our first-ever thermal analysis of such a starshade shows that a temperature below 100 K can be achieved over a broad range of observing directions, permitting the possibility of working into the infrared. We model the yield in exoplanets that can be observed. A starshade and associated spectrograph offer significant advantages for exoplanet characterization. They enable a much broader instantaneous spectral bandwidth (here 108%) than current coronagraphs (∼10 % to 20% bandwidth), allow both polarizations to be observed simultaneously, and have higher throughput. The IWA is twice as small as can be achieved with a coronagraph and there is no outer working angle. These differences are particularly pronounced in the UV, where coronagraph performance would be strongly affected by throughput losses, wavefront aberrations, Fresnel polarization effects at surfaces, and thermal instability.

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Proceedings Article | 27 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

An exploration of expected number of exoplanets for a 6m class direct imaging observatory

Rhonda Morgan, Dmitry Savransky, Michael Turmon, Grace Genszler, Eric Mamajek, Tyler Robinson, Karl Stapelfeldt

Proceedings Volume 12180, 1218020 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630609

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Coronagraphy, Monte Carlo methods, Stars, Planets, Oxygen, Signal to noise ratio, Observatories, Spectral resolution, Telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 3 September 2021 Presentation + Paper

Planet matching and orbit determination in multi-planet systems for exoplanet direct imaging

Rhonda Morgan, Sophia Vlahakis, Leonid Pogorelyuk, Jenny Gubner, Riley Fitzgerald, Sophia Wang, Kerri Cahoy

Proceedings Volume 11823, 118230F (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2594998

KEYWORDS: Monte Carlo methods, Planetary systems, Exoplanets, Computer simulations

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SPIE Journal Paper | 21 June 2021 Open Access

Faster Exo-Earth yield for HabEx and LUVOIR via extreme precision radial velocity prior knowledge

Rhonda Morgan, Dmitry Savransky, Michael Turmon, Bertrand Mennesson, Walker Dula, Dean Keithly, Eric Mamajek, Patrick Newman, Peter Plavchan, Tyler Robinson, Gael Roudier, Chris Stark

JATIS, Vol. 7, Issue 02, 021220, (June 2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.7.2.021220

KEYWORDS: Coronagraphy, Planets, Stars, Signal to noise ratio, Target detection, Monte Carlo methods, Telescopes, Exoplanets, Device simulation, Observatories

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SPIE Journal Paper | 11 January 2021 Open Access

Analytical model for starshade formation flying with applications to exoplanet direct imaging observation scheduling

Gabriel Soto, Dmitry Savransky, Rhonda Morgan

JATIS, Vol. 7, Issue 02, 021209, (January 2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JATIS.7.2.021209

KEYWORDS: Stars, Telescopes, Sun, Motion models, Exoplanets, Computer simulations, Device simulation, Kinematics, Tolerancing, Solar system

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Poster

Active telescope for UV-through-midIR space astronomy

Charles Lawrence, David Redding, Kevin Hurd, Jeffrey Jewell, Stefan Martin, Rhonda Morgan, Charles Phillips, Claudia Pineda, Michael Rodgers, John Steeves

Proceedings Volume 11443, 114435Z (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2563177

KEYWORDS: Space telescopes, Telescopes, Astronomy, Astronomical telescopes, Exoplanets, Imaging spectroscopy, Ultraviolet radiation, Visible radiation, Mid-IR, Optics manufacturing

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Presentation + Paper

ATSA: a cold, active telescope for Space Astronomy

Stefan Martin, Charles Lawrence, David Redding, Michael Rodgers, Kevin Hurd, Jeffrey Jewell, Rhonda Morgan, Charles Phillips, Claudia Pineda, Bertrand Mennesson, John Steeves

Proceedings Volume 11443, 114432A (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2575505

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Proceedings Article | 16 September 2019 Presentation + Paper

Technology maturity update for the Habitable-zone Exoplanet Imaging Observatory (HabEx) concept

Rhonda Morgan, Keith Warfield, H. Phil Stahl, Bertrand Mennesson, Gary Kuan, Bala Balasubramanian, Dimitri Mawet, Shouleh Nikzad, John Hennessy, Ali Azizi, Stuart Shaklan, Eugene Serabyn

Proceedings Volume 11115, 111150N (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2529766

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Observatories, Telescopes, Coronagraphy, Mirrors, Optical instrument design, Deformable mirrors, Wavefronts, Segmented mirrors, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 16 September 2019 Presentation + Paper

Minimum number of observations for exoplanet orbit determination

Andrew Horning, Rhonda Morgan, Eric Nielson

Proceedings Volume 11117, 111171C (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2529741

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Stars, Planets, Tolerancing

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Proceedings Article | 16 September 2019 Presentation + Paper

Standard exoplanet yield evaluation for the LUVOIR and HabEx concept studies

Rhonda Morgan, Dmitry Savransky, Michael Turmon, Bertrand Mennesson, Eric Mamajek, Stuart Shaklan, Gabriel Soto, Karl Stapelfeldt, Walker Dula, Dean Keithly

Proceedings Volume 11117, 1111701 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2530668

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Monte Carlo methods, Planets, Coronagraphy, Stars

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Proceedings Article | 9 September 2019 Presentation + Paper

A Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) starshade-only architectures

David Redding, Keith Coste, Otto Polanco, Claudia Pineda, Kevin Hurd, Howard Tseng, Stefan Martin, Rhonda Morgan, Kevin Schulz, Jonathan Tesch, Eric Cady, Michael Rodgers, Matthew East, Chris Stark, Gordon Wu, Pei Huang, Bradley Hood, Derek Chan, Dustin Putnam, Suzan Greene, Sandra Johnson, Jonathan Benson

Proceedings Volume 11115, 111150V (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2529646

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Ultraviolet radiation, Mirrors, Space operations, Interfaces, Actuators, Exoplanets, Electronics, Imaging spectroscopy, Observatories

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Proceedings Article | 9 September 2019 Presentation + Paper

Technology development roadmap for Habitable-zone exoplanet observatory (HabEx) baseline 4-m primary mirror

H. Philip Stahl, Rhonda Morgan

Proceedings Volume 11116, 1111604 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2528333

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Astrophysics, Telescopes, Exoplanets, Observatories, Imaging spectroscopy, Spectroscopy, Planetary systems, Stars, Diffraction

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

Technology maturity for the habitable-zone exoplanet imaging observatory (HabEx) concept

Rhonda Morgan, Keith Warfield, Gary Kuan, H. Phil Stahl, Bertrand Mennesson, Bala Balasubramanian, Dimitri Mawet, Shouleh Nikzad, Joel Nissen, Stuart Shaklan, Eugene Serabyn, Karl Stapelfeldt, Steven Warwick

Proceedings Volume 10698, 106980S (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313845

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Coronagraphy, Coating, Sensors, Reflectivity, Telescopes, Space telescopes, Ultraviolet radiation, Electron multiplying charge coupled devices, Microchannel plates

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Proceedings Article | 19 September 2017 Presentation

HabEx yield modeling with for systems engineering (Conference Presentation)

Rhonda Morgan, Michael Bottom, Michael Turmon, Bertrand Mennesson, Keith Warfield, Dmitry Savransky, Christian Delacroix

Proceedings Volume 10398, 1039804 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2274678

KEYWORDS: Systems modeling, Space telescopes, Systems engineering, Exoplanets, Monte Carlo methods, Diffraction, Telescopes, Optical instrument design, Space observatories

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Proceedings Article | 12 September 2017 Paper

ExEP yield modeling tool and validation test results

Rhonda Morgan, Michael Turmon, Christian Delacroix, Dmitry Savransky, Daniel Garrett, Patrick Lowrance, Xiang Cate Liu, Paul Nunez

Proceedings Volume 10400, 104001K (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2274468

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Photon counting, Time correlated photon counting, Telescopes, Planets, Video, Interferometry

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Proceedings Article | 10 August 2016 Paper

Science yield modeling with the Exoplanet Open-Source Imaging Mission Simulator (EXOSIMS)

Christian Delacroix, Dmitry Savransky, Daniel Garrett, Patrick Lowrance, Rhonda Morgan

Proceedings Volume 9911, 991119 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2233913

KEYWORDS: Exoplanets, Planets, Computer simulations, Selenium, Stars, Coronagraphy, Point spread functions, Sun, Neodymium, Signal to noise ratio

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Proceedings Article | 16 September 2015 Paper

Initial look at the coronagraph technology gaps for direct imaging of exo-earths

Rhonda Morgan, Nick Siegler

Proceedings Volume 9605, 96052I (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2196770

KEYWORDS: Coronagraphy, Sensors, Space telescopes, Wavefronts, Mirrors, Actuators, Exoplanets, Telescopes, James Webb Space Telescope, Image segmentation

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Proceedings Article | 27 September 2007 Paper

Actuator fault detection via electrical impedance testing

Rhonda Morgan, Keats Wilkie, Xiaoqi Bao, Erkin Sidick

Proceedings Volume 6711, 67110A (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.734935

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Deformable mirrors, Ceramics, Optical testing, Mirrors, Aluminum, Adhesives, Wavefronts, Interferometers, Lead

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Proceedings Article | 20 September 2007 Paper

Adaptive cross-correlation algorithm and experiment of extended scene Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensing

Erkin Sidick, Rhonda Morgan, Joseph Green, Catherine Ohara, David Redding

Proceedings Volume 6687, 668710 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.735030

KEYWORDS: Wavefront sensors, Actuators, Cameras, Algorithm development, Wavefronts, Detection and tracking algorithms, Photovoltaics, Error analysis, Image analysis, Image quality

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Proceedings Article | 8 October 2005 Paper

Testbed for extended-scene Shack-Hartmann and phase retrieval wavefront sensing

Rhonda Morgan, Kirill Shcheglov, Joseph Green, Catherine Ohara, Jennifer Roberts, Erkin Sidick

Proceedings Volume 5903, 59030I (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.627747

KEYWORDS: Wavefront sensors, Point spread functions, Wavefronts, Phase retrieval, Actuators, Cameras, Deformable mirrors, Algorithm development, Mirrors, Photovoltaics

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Proceedings Article | 24 September 2004 Paper

The DART cylindrical infrared 1-meter membrane reflector

Rhonda Morgan, Greg Agnes, Dan Barber, Jennifer Dooley, Mark Dragovan, Al Hatheway, Marty Marcin

Proceedings Volume 5494, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.562451

KEYWORDS: Reflectors, Profilometers, Infrared radiation, Space telescopes, Copper, Interferometers, Telescopes, Metrology, Mirrors, Reflector telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 26 February 2003 Paper

StarLight space interferometer: optical design and performance modeling

Stefan Martin, Rhonda Morgan, Steven Gunter, Randall Bartos

Proceedings Volume 4852, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.460927

KEYWORDS: Mirrors, Space operations, Visibility, Interferometers, Wavefronts, Tolerancing, Stars, Beam splitters, Metrology, Information technology

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Proceedings Article | 26 February 2003 Paper

Visible light Terrestrial Planet Finder: planet detection and spectroscopy by nulling interferometry with a single aperture telescope

Bruce Levine, Michael Shao, Charles Beichman, Bertrand Mennesson, Rhonda Morgan, Glenn Orton, Eugene Serabyn, Stephen Unwin, T. Velusamy, Neville Woolf

Proceedings Volume 4852, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.460925

KEYWORDS: Planets, Stars, Interferometers, Telescopes, Nulling interferometry, Space telescopes, Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Visible radiation, Wavefronts

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Proceedings Article | 21 February 2003 Paper

Final laboratory results of visible nulling with dielectric plates

Rhonda Morgan, James Burge, Neville Woolf

Proceedings Volume 4838, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.459341

KEYWORDS: Phase shifts, Glasses, Dielectrics, Ferroelectric materials, Infrared radiation, Interferometers, Mirrors, Photodiodes, Nulling interferometry, Visible radiation

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Proceedings Article | 5 July 2000 Paper

Nulling interferometric beam combiner utilizing dielectric plates: experimental results in the visible broadband

Rhonda Morgan, James Burge, Neville Woolf

Proceedings Volume 4006, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.390224

KEYWORDS: Dielectrics, Phase shifts, Glasses, Phase measurement, Control systems, Mirrors, Ferroelectric materials, Servomechanisms, Sensors, Interferometers

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Proceedings Article | 12 October 1996 Paper

Two-laser heterodyne metrology for a separated spacecraft interferometer

Rhonda Morgan, Stuart Shaklan, Jeffrey Yu

Proceedings Volume 2807, (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.255097

KEYWORDS: Metrology, Space operations, Signal detection, Sensors, Interferometers, Beam splitters, Polarization, Distance measurement, Heterodyning, Laser metrology

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Showing 5 of 28 publications

Conference Committee Involvement (1)

Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets X

2 August 2021 | San Diego, California, United States

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