James Webb Space Telescope

One year of JWST: photodissociation regions, protostars, disks, and planets − an EAS 2023 symposium

Almost 40 years since the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) completed the first, full-sky survey, a succession of infrared space-born facilities (ISO, Spitzer and Herschel) have each pushed the frontiers, helping us to uncover the complex processes which govern the formation of stars and planets. The unique capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) now allow us to study the, otherwise inaccessible, processes governing the formation of stars and planets, to an unprecedented detail. As a space-based cryogenic 6.5m telescope, JWST represents a staggering improvement in sensitivity along with unprecedented spatial resolution across the near and mid-infrared. The first full … Read more »

Press release: Long-lost crystals in the protoplanetary disk of a young star were successfully rediscovered with the James Webb Space Telescope

An international team led by researchers from the Konkoly Observatory at the ELKH Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (CSFK), used the MIRI spectrograph onboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the circumstellar disk of the Sun-like young star EX Lupi. Thanks to the exquisite sensitivity of the instrument, they rediscovered long-lost silicate crystals that had formed in an earlier outburst of EX Lupi. In the infrared spectrum of EX Lupi’s disk, they also detected molecules that are essential ingredients for the development of life, among others carbon monoxide and water vapor. The crystals that formed in … Read more »

STAR FORMATION WITH SPACEBORNE INFRARED FACILITIES: THE ERA OF JWST – COSPAR 44

We are organizing a scientific event during COSPAR 44, the 2022 assembly of the Committee for Space Research, to be held in Athens, Greece. Almost 40 years since the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) completed the first, full-sky survey, a succession of infrared space-born facilities (ISO, Spitzer and Herschel) have each pushed the frontiers, helping us to uncover the complex processes which govern the formation of stars and planets. The unique capabilities of the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will soon allow us to study the, otherwise inaccessible, energetic processes governing the formation of stars and planets, to an unprecedented … Read more »

The James Webb Space Telescope: a new window on the Universe − An EAS 2022 symposium

The delivery of the first scientific data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in mid 2022, after commissioning, will be the astronomical event of the year. JWST will provide unprecedented imaging and spectroscopic capabilities in the 0.6-28μm band, with a sensitivity that will be even orders of magnitude higher than current and past facilities in some spectral ranges. Undoubtedly, in the years to come, JWST will open a huge, new discovery space in most areas of astronomy and astrophysics. By the time of the EAS 2022 meeting, the commissioning of the telescope and of the instruments should be either … Read more »

JWST Master Class Budapest 2020

UPDATE: due to the postponement of the JWST proposal deadline, our workshop is also postponed. More information will be posted here and at the workshop webpage as soon as available. Konkoly Observatory is happy to announce a small (40-45 participants) focused workshop on the James Webb Space Telescope. This 2-day intense workshop will take place on 16-17 March 2019 at Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary. The workshop will have a mixture of lecture-style talks and practical hands-on sessions. The aim is to train the participants on JWST proposal planning tools and resources so they can be as efficient as possible in writing their … Read more »