The more we know about the Cosmos the stranger it seems to get. The new Kepler space telescope has detected many new “exoplanet”—planets in other star systems. Some of these planets are quite strange. One has the density of Styrofoam. Another seems to be hotter than the star it revolves around. Kinks in the Kepler telescope’s sensors have been worked around using computers and the ground and it is now providing amazing data from millions of star systems. The refurbished Hubble Space Telescope has now peered more deeply into the past than ever before to almost the dawn of the Universe. In addition, the James Webb Telescope will soon allow us to see even further back in time. Come hear Dr. Eric P. Smith, NASA astrophysicist show and tell us about the Latest and Greatest News from the Cosmos.

1. Space Astronomy News
Eric P. Smith
Astrophysics Division
NASA Headquarters

2. 2009-2010: A Banner Year
• March 2009 Kepler Launch
• May 2009 Hubble 5 servicing mission,
th
Herschel and Planck launch
• December 2009 WISE launch
• May 2010 SOFIA first light

3. 3

4. Kepler
Goal: Determine the Frequency of
Earth-like planets
Where: The Cygnus-Lyra
direction along the Orion arm of
our galaxy.
How far: Design point is the Sun at
273 parsecs (800 light years).
Useful stars are between 100 pc
(300 l.y.) and 1000 pc (3000 l.y.)

5. How Kepler Spots Planets

6. Kepler’s First Planets

7. Planck Results

8. Herschel: Life’s Building Blocks

9. WISE

10. SOFIA First Light

11. Hubble Science

12. Missions in Development

13. James Webb Space Telescope
Wavelength Coverage: 0.6-28 microns.
Primary Mirror diameter: 6.5 meters
Imaging and Spectroscopy
Launch: 2014
Lifetime: 5-10 years
Partnership with European Space Agency
and Canadian Space Agency

14. James Webb Space Telescope Science Goals
First Light What are the 1st luminous objects? Simulation of the first
stellar clusters at the
What is the nature end of the Cosmic
of the 1st galaxies? Dark Age
Do galaxy collisions play a role
Galaxy in their evolution?
Galaxies in
Assembly What is the origin and importance of GOODS Field
dark matter in the universe?
How do clouds collapse?
The Eagle Nebula
Birthplace of How does environment affect star as seen in the
Stars and planetary formation? near-infrared
How do planets form? JWST (20 µm) Spitzer (24 µm) Visible (HST)
Planets and What is the nature and evolutionary
timescale of debris disks?
Life
How are habitable zones
established?
Fomalhaut

15. How is Webb Different?

16. Full Scale Model in NYC

17. Science Instruments
Near Infrared Spectrometer Near Infrared Camera
Fine Guidance Sensor Mid-Infrared Instrument

19. International Missions
Plato Euclid SPICA

20. International X-ray Observatory
How do supermassive black holes grow? Does this change over cosmic time?
How does galaxy cluster evolution constrain the nature of dark matter and dark energy?
How are particles accelerated to extreme energies producing shocks, jets and cosmic rays?

21. Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
First New Window on the Universe in ~50 years