Studying Exoplanets with The James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful and complex astronomical space observatory ever built. It launched in December 2021 into orbit in the Sun - Earth system. The large 6.5-m diameter JWST primary mirror and its infrared instruments allow it to see some of the very first luminous objects 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 the origins of life. JWST is the premier astrophysics space observatory for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), with an expected 20+ year mission lifetime. It will augment the Hubble Space Telescope, which primarily works at visible and ultraviolet light wavelengths. Many scientists will use JWST to make discoveries that we have not yet imagined!

In this talk Dr Thomas Greene (NASA Ames) will illustrate how the JWST is being used to discover and characterize exoplanets in our galaxy, and present some of the exciting findings to date.