JWST: NASA’s Greatest Observatory and Its Great Science!

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the most complex and powerful astronomical space observatory ever built. It launched on Christmas Day in 2021 and has recently been commissioned in its final orbit in the Sun - Earth system. The large 6.5-m diameter JWST primary mirror and its science instruments will allow it to see some of the very first galaxies that formed in the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. Other major science themes of JWST encompass studying the assembly of galaxies, the birth of stars and planetary systems, and studying planetary systems and the origins of life. JWST will be the premier astrophysics space observatory for NASA and the European and Canadian Space Agencies (ESA and CSA), and it was in development for over 20 years. Scientists from all over the world will use it during its mission lifetime - which could be 20 years or more! JWST will augment the Hubble Space Telescope, which primarily works at shorter visible and ultraviolet light wavelengths. In this talk, Dr. Greene will illustrate the mission’s science goals and highlight some aspects of its design, technologies, and initial science results. In addition to these topics, many scientists will use JWST to make discoveries that we have not yet imagined.

Speaker: Thomas Greene, NASA Ames Research Center