July 10-11, 2025

Rome- Università La Sapienza

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a large (6–10 m mirror diameter) infrared/optical/ultraviolet space telescope designed to revolutionize optical astronomy from the 2040s onward. HWO will be equipped with a comprehensive suite of powerful capabilities for transformational astrophysics discoveries, spanning from our cosmic backyard—the solar system—to the distant universe and everything in between. It will also be the first telescope specifically engineered to search for signs of life on planets orbiting other stars, utilizing a coronagraph of unprecedented capability. HWO is being developed by NASA and will result from extensive international collaboration.

This meeting aims to discuss the scientific perspectives enabled by HWO and the role of the Italian community in developing new technologies and defining the scientific requirements.

We invite to present contributed talks highlighting either scientific challenges that can be addressed by HWO, possibly including a description of the ideal instrumentation that would be needed, or on groundbreaking technologies that could be exploited.

It will be possible to follow the workshop remotely, but we warmly invite all interested scientists to attend in person.