Description:

Abstract: The James Webb Space Telescope required a new approach to optical design and cryogenic cooling. Successful ground tests were followed by six months of commissioning after launch. The commissioning process was a carefully orchestrated exercise to align the telescope which yielded performance nearly twice as good as pre-launch predictions (e.g. the telescope is diffraction-limited almost down to one micron rather than the predicted limit of two microns). This level of performance has yielded breakthroughs in many areas ranging from the most distant galaxies to nearby galaxies to exoplanets and solar system objects.

Speaker:

Marcia J. Rieke

Principal investigator for the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope, Regents' Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, Elizabeth Roemer Chair in the Steward Observatory

This is lecture 1 of 3 in the 2024 Heilborn Lecture Series. Please visit our website for more information.

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Heilborn