James Webb Space Telescope: beginning to see the light

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched in December with many sophisticated instruments aboard, including a Canadian guidance camera and scientific instrument co-developed by researchers at the Université de Montréal. Now those same experts, led by Professor René Doyon of the Department of Physics, are preparing for the telescope’s next big step: the release this summer of the first images it’s captured.

Experts in infrared instrumentation, the large team of astrophysicists at UdeM’s Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx) – professors, scientists and PhD students – are once again available to talk about the telescope’s progress to journalists (see below).

The result of an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb Telescope orbits the Sun at 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and is the most important observatory for thousands of astronomers around the world. One of the Canadian instuments aboard is the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS. It helps orient the telescope in space to point to, track and take clear and precise images of celestial targets. The other Canadian component is the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph, or NIRISS; it will allow astronomers to study exoplanets, faraway galaxies and much more. UdeM’s scientists developed both instuments in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, the National Research Council of Canada, Honeywell Canada and other partners.

“The latest news is that we've just completed the mirror's ‘fine phasing,’ which means that the mirror is aligned, at least for one instrument, and the optics are working better than the original specifications, which is great news,” said Nathalie Ouellette, one of UdeM’s experts.

“This March we released an alignment evaluation image which represents the sharpest view in the infrared of that part of the sky ever taken, and we’re now aligning the mirror perfectly for all four of Webb's instruments,” she said. “We’re continuing to calibrate the scientific instruments, including the Canadian NIRISS. Canada's guiding camera, FGS, is working wonderfully – better than expected, even – and is being used throughout calibrations. The first images should be published this summer.”

Here is the full list of UdeM experts for the media to consult.

FGS/NIRISS instrument design; exoplanets; Webb mission overview

René Doyon, Professor, Department of Physics, Principal Investigator of the FGS/NIRISS instrument

Expertise: State-of-the-art astronomical instrumentation for various observatories, on the ground and in space. Brown dwarfs, exoplanets and young low mass stars. Search for extraterrestrial life.

Languages spoken: French, English

Press review of René Doyon

To contact him: rene.doyon(at)umontreal.ca

Observation and characterization of exoplanets; Hot Jupiter exoplanets

Romain Allart, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Detection and characterization of exoplanets. Velocimetry. Atmospheres and composition of exoplanets.

Languages spoken: French, English

To contact him: romain.allart(at)umontreal.ca

Design of the NIRISS instrument; brown dwarfs

Loïc Albert, researcher at the Department of Physics, NIRISS Instrument Scientist

Expertise: Astronomical observation and instrumentation. Brown dwarfs and rogue planets. Spectral characterization of exoplanets. Numerical simulations (noise effects).

Languages spoken: French, English

Press review of Loïc Albert

To reach him: loic.albert(at)umontreal.ca

Brown dwarfs; data reduction algorithms

Étienne Artigau, researcher in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Astronomical observation and instrumentation. Brown dwarfs and rogue planets. Velocimetry and spectroscopy of exoplanets.

Languages spoken: French, English

To reach him: etienne.artigau(at)umontreal.ca

Observation and characterization of exoplanets; Hot Jupiter exoplanets; rocky exoplanets

Björn Benneke, Professor, Department of Physics

Expertise: Detection and characterization of exoplanets. Atmospheres and climates of exoplanets. Search for extraterrestrial life.

Language spoken: English

Press review for Björn Benneke

To contact him: bjorn.benneke(at)umontreal.ca

Observation and characterization of exoplanets; spectroscopy

Antoine-Darveau Bernier, PhD student in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Detection and characterization of exoplanets. Transit spectroscopy. Velocimetry. Search for extraterrestrial life.

Languages spoken: French, English

To contact him: antoine.darveau-bernier(at)umontreal.ca

Exoplanet observation; transit spectroscopy

David Lafrenière, Professor, Department of Physics, Principal Investigator of the GTO NEAT program

Expertise: Astronomical instrumentation. Spectroscopy and spectrophotometry. Astronomical observations in the infrared. Atmospheres of exoplanets. Low luminosity stars, sub-dwarfs and brown dwarfs. Direct imaging. Search for extraterrestrial life.

Languages spoken: French, English

Press review of David Lafrenière

To contact him: david.lafreniere(at)umontreal.ca

Observation and characterization of exoplanets; the TRAPPIST-1 system

Olivia Lim, PhD student in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Detection and characterization of exoplanets. Habitable zone and search for extraterrestrial life. Velocimetry.

Languages spoken: French, English

To reach her: olivia.lim(at)umontreal.ca

Observation and characterization of exoplanets; Hot Jupiter exoplanets

Stefan Pelletier, PhD student in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Detection and characterization of exoplanets. Atmospheres and climates of exoplanets. Velocimetry. Search for extraterrestrial life.

Spoken languages: French, English

To reach him: stefan.pelletier(at)umontreal.ca

Exoplanet atmospheres; spectroscopy

Jake Taylor, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Transit spectroscopy. Exoplanet atmospheres and climates. Data reduction algorithms.

Language spoken: English

To contact him: jake.taylor(at)umontreal.ca

Direct imaging of exoplanets

Thomas Vandal, PhD student in the Department of Physics

Expertise: Detection and characterization of exoplanets. Velocimetry. Direct imaging of exoplanets. Interferometry.

Languages spoken: French, English

To contact him: thomas.vandal(at)umontreal.ca

Scientific and educational objectives & overview of the Webb mission; observation of galaxies

Nathalie Ouellette, Outreach Scientist for Webb in Canada, coordinator of the iREx (Institute for Research on Exoplanets), UdeM

Expertise: Formation and evolution of galaxies. Space exploration. Space astronomy. Science communication, education, public outreach.

Languages spoken: French, English

Press review of Nathalie Ouellette

To reach her: nathalie.ouellette.2(at)umontreal.ca