Seminar of the ISL by Pierre-Olivier LAGAGE

Seminar of the ISL by Pierre-Olivier LAGAGE, astrophysicist at the CEA Paris-Saclay, on 10 January 2023 at 11am in the Auditorium of the Institut d'Optique in Palaiseau, on the topic: "The Webb Telescope: a giant in space."

Abstract: "On 25 December 2021, the Webb Telescope, the largest and most complex telescope ever built, was launched from Kourou by an Ariane 5 rocket. Two weeks later, the telescope was fully deployed and by the end of January it was in orbit around the Lagrange point L2 (1.5 million km from Earth). The 18 hexagons that make up the primary mirror were then phased and the four instruments were commissioned. In many respects, the performance is better than required and better than we could have hoped for. In July, scientific observations began. With its large collecting area (25 square metres) and wide wavelength coverage (0.6 to 28 microns), this NASA's flagship mission, with the participation of Europe and Canada, will have an impact on many areas of astrophysics. Indeed, it will allow us to observe further back than Hubble and thus probe the Universe at the time when the first galaxies formed, a few hundred million years after the big bang. It also allows us to probe the regions where stars form with unprecedented acuity. Another example of fields that will benefit from Webb observations is the study of exoplanets. During the seminar, I will present Webb's performance and first results, focusing on exoplanets."