In this video we are joined by Professor Sasha Hinkley, an associate professor in the astrophysics group at the University of Exeter, who takes us behind the scenes of the James Webb Space Telescope. We sit down with Sasha just after the 1-year anniversary of the mission to reflect upon the inside story of how JWST came to be, its tense launch, and the incredible moment the first ever direct image of an exoplanet from JWST was seen by the team.
Topics Discussed
- A description of the ambitious James Webb Space Telescope mission, and a description of the science it is intended to advance.
- The history of the construction and launch of the ambitious James Webb Space Telescope mission.
- The story of how the first ever images of an exoplanet were observed by Sasha and the ERS team.
Resources
- Sasha’s Staff Profile
- Sasha’s Website
- First Exoplanet Image from JWST Press Release
- JWST Early Release Science Program Page
About Prof. Sasha Hinkley:
Professor Sasha Hinkley and his team in the Astrophysics Group at the University of Exeter are experts at using both ground- and space-based observatories to directly image exoplanets. Sasha was responsible for designing, building, and commissioning an instrument for Palomar Observatory dedicated to this task.
Since late 2015, Sasha has been leading a large, international collaboration as part of the JWST Early Release Science Program, pushing the frontiers of direct imaging using the ambitious James Webb Space Telescope. At Exeter Sasha is responsible for supervising PhD students, lecturing our ‘Observing the Universe’ module, and teaching the second-year astrophysics lab.