The JWST, launched far from Earth in December 2021, is the most sophisticated telescope ever created. It will reveal stars, galaxies and other objects in the very early universe. Scientists are still amazed that such a complex project –25 years in the making– succeeded. Astronomer Silas Laycock describes the technical achievement and the incredible images the telescope has produced so far. The JWST reveals features of the early universe, the birth and death of galaxies, planets that may support life, and much more.
Silas Laycock’s astronomy expertise includes neutron stars and black holes in X-ray binaries, pulsars, multi-wavelength astronomy, time domain astrophysics. He joined UMass-Lowell in 2010, following postdoctoral research at Gemini Observatory and Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Dr. Laycock is affiliated with the American Astronomical Society and the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology. His 2021 article in The Conversation James Webb Space Telescope: An Astronomer Explains the Stunning, Newly Released First Images describes especially well the spectacular technological achievement that the James Webb Space Telescope represents.