Passing the Baton from Hubble to Webb, A James Webb Telescope Launch Party

Saturday, December 18
10-5 p.m.
Free with admission 

The largest space telescope ever made is scheduled to launch soon! This new instrument will unveil invisible mysteries of the universe never before captured in infrared radiation from the early universe and the birth of stars to distant other worlds. Join us for an illuminating celebration with special activities, infrared demonstrations and talks about the telescope with our Educators, Galaxy Educators, Volunteers, SETI and the East Bay Astronomical Society. 

Activities: 

• Spectrography   
• Filtering Light 
• Modeling 
• Webb Art 
• Infared demonstrations 
• Exoplanets 
• Nebula Spin Art 

Dr. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, Institute Fellow, SETI Institute  
The search for aliens, A family-friendly talk 
12:00 p.m., Studio 3 

When most people think of aliens, they figure that they’re probably little gray guys with big eyes and no hair. And they never smile. After all, that’s what you see on TV and in the movies. But as scientists seek evidence of real aliens, do they have any idea of what they might find? Learn how the James Webb Space Telescope can be used to search for aliens and what they might be like! 

About Seth Shostak
Seth claims to have developed an interest in extraterrestrial life at the tender age of ten, when he first picked up a book about the Solar System. This innocent beginning eventually led to a degree in radio astronomy, and now, as Senior Astronomer, Seth is an enthusiastic participant in the Institute’s SETI observing programs. In addition, Seth is keen on outreach activities: interesting the public – and especially young people – in science in general, and astrobiology in particular. He’s co-authored a college textbook on astrobiology, and has written three trade books on SETI. In addition, he’s published more than 400 popular articles on science including regular contributions to NBC News MACH, gives many dozens of talks annually, and is the host of the SETI Institute’s weekly science radio show, “Big Picture Science.” 

Thomas Greene, NASA
The James Webb Space Telescope: Great science will be launching soon!
1:00pm, Studio 3

The James Webb Space Telescope will be the most complex and powerful astronomical space observatory ever built. It will launch from French Guiana in less than a week and will unfold itself before arriving in its final orbit in the Sun – Earth system about a month later. The large 6.5-m diameter JWST primary mirror and its infrared instruments will allow it to see some of the very first luminous objects that formed in the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. Other major science themes of JWST encompass studying the assembly of galaxies, the birth of stars and planetary systems, and planetary systems and the origins of life. JWST will be the premier astrophysics space observatory for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) over its 5 – 10-year mission lifetime. It will augment the Hubble Space Telescope, which primarily works at visible and ultraviolet light wavelengths. In addition to the topics covered in this talk, many scientists will use JWST to make discoveries that we have not yet imagined. In this talk, Thomas will illustrate the mission’s science potential and highlight some aspects of its design, technologies, launch, and operations plans.

Thomas Greene is an astrophysicist in the Space Science and Astrobiology Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center. He conducts observational studies of exoplanets and young stars and develops astronomical technologies and instrumentation. Dr. Greene is a co-investigator on the NIRCam and MIRI science instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope and serves on the JWST Users Committee. While at NASA Ames he has served as the Director of the Ames Center for Exoplanet Studies, Project Scientist of the SOFIA mission, and Chief of the Astrophysics Branch. Before joining NASA, he worked at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center on NASA astrophysics missions. Prior to that, Dr. Greene was on the faculty of the University of Hawaii where he was a support astronomer and later Director of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Arizona. Dr. Greene currently co-chairs the US National Academies of Sciences’ Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA) and is a NASA representative on the W .M. Keck Observatory Science Steering Committee. 

Dr. Simon Steel, NASA’s New Time Machines 
Senior Director of Education and Outreach, SETI Institute                                   
Studio 3, 3pm 

With a little astronomy know-how and help from NASA’s latest time machine, we’ll take a journey back billions of years to when the first stars and galaxies were born!  Plus: This talk will feature a real working time machine, with instructions on how to use it! 

Simon is the Senior Director of Education and Outreach at the SETI Institute.  As a PhD astronomer and qualified high school teacher, Simon has spent over 25 years in education and public outreach, at Harvard University, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and at University College London.  His experience spans formal and informal education, teacher training, exhibit design, multimedia product development, and working with special needs audiences.   

About Investigating Space
Join us on the third Saturday afternoon of the month for Investigating Space as we explore and discuss the big topics in space exploration with some of the leading scientists and researchers in the Bay Area. In this new series Chabot Space & Science Center highlights the latest discoveries, science research and missions happening in space today. Welcome our host (TBD) as they share a lively discussion with our guest speakers and the audience. Expect to learn something new about space and make sure to explore our new NASA Experience exhibition.