Above and Beyond: The James Webb Space Telescope

Sunday, October 27, 2:30 pm Central Time
Where: via Zoom
NOTE: This is the final Theodore Talk for 2024.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, is the largest space telescope ever constructed; it is giving humanity its first high-definition view of the infrared universe. The JWST is observing early epochs of the universe, revealing how its galaxies and structure have evolved over cosmic time, exploring how stars and planetary systems form and evolve, and is searching exoplanet atmospheres for evidence of life.

It was announced last week the JWST has identified an exoplanet shrouded in a thick envelope of steam. Located around 100 light-years away in the constellation Pisces, it is twice the size of Earth, three times more massive than our planet, and has an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapor.

“This is the first time we’re ever seeing something like this,” team member and former University of Michigan undergraduate student Eshan Raul, currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a statement. “The planet appears to be made mostly of hot water vapor, making it something we’re calling a ‘steam world’.  We were searching specifically for water worlds because it was hypothesized that they could exist. If these are real, it really makes you wonder what else could be out there.”

Astronomers have long speculated that ‘steam worlds’ like GJ 9827 d could exist, but this is the first time such an exoplanet has been observed.

“GJ 9827 d is the first planet detected with an atmosphere rich in heavy molecules like the terrestrial planets of our solar system,” said Caroline Piaulet-Ghorayeb, who leads the study team at the University of Montréal’s Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets.  “This is a huge step.”

While this planet would not be habitable for most life forms that people are familiar with on Earth, the success of finding a terrestrial world with an atmosphere teeming with water means scientists are getting ever-closer to finding temperate hospitable worlds.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center astrophysicist Matt Greenhouse has served on the James Webb Space Telescope senior staff as Project Scientist for the science instrument payload since 1997. He will discuss the science instrument payload package, which includes four sensor systems that provide imagery, coronagraphic images, and spectroscopy over the near- and mid-infrared spectrum, and how these instruments are being used to accomplish the JWST mission and goals. He will discuss the overall Webb mission, its motivation, technical challenges, and scientific performance.

Goddard’s Greenhouse is the recipient of more than 20 individual performance awards and honors: including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the Robert H. Goddard Award for Exceptional Achievement in Science.

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NOTE: This is the final Theodore Talk for 2024; we don’t offer talks in November or December as the fourth Sunday of those months often conflicts with holidays. However, we have finalized our list of talks for 2025! Once again, the first six talks will tie in to the next Annual Gathering host city, or in this case Chicago. The full list of talks will be published in the January issue of the Mensa Bulletin and will be posted on the American Mensa National Events Calendar.

Contact Brad Lucht (Life Member, American Mensa) at: [email protected].

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