Dr. Alex Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley)
Mar. 8, 2023
We have a new supersensitive eye in the cosmic sky. Parked nearly one million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is 100 times more sensitive than the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST observes at the red to the mid-infrared parts of the spectrum, offering new insights into a vast array of objects and processes -- including solar system formation, star birth and death, galaxy evolution, and, perhaps, the origins of life. Dr. Filippenko is a member of several teams of astronomers who are and will be observing using JWST.  Showing some of the best new images, he gives us the inside scoop on what astronomers expect the telescope to do and what they have already learned from the first months of the telescope's operation.

Dr. Filippenko was voted the University of California, Berkeley's "best professor" nine times! He has produced five astronomy video courses with The Great Courses, co-authored an award-winning astronomy textbook, and appeared in about 100 TV documentaries.