New Eye on the Universe

It seems JWST is going to be an astronomy research bonanza. And a reliable topic for PBS NOVA. In September, 2022, NOVA's first JWST episode debuted. Ultimate Space Telescope came just a few months after James Webb Space Telescope's first light.

Now in February, 2023, New Eye on the Universe has aired. It follows the series of researchers putting JWST to work. The search for carbon dioxide in the clouds of a distant Jupiter-like exoplanet reveals a surprising molecule. The search for an atmosphere on a less distant rocky exoplanet pushed JWST to the limits of its capabilities. 

Meanwhile, the water plumes of Enceladus and the surface of Europa yield some surprises. JWST provides stunning new images of Jupiter and Neptune. And the race to find the oldest galaxies in the universe cast current astronomical theories into doubt. There's even a nice vignette on how these infrared light images are colorized.

I didn't waste much time developing a Lessons of Phyz question set for this episode.

New Eye on the Universe at TPT.

In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope released its first images, looking further back in time than ever before to show our universe in stunningly beautiful detail. But that was just the beginning: With tons of new data and spectacular images flooding in, Webb is allowing scientists to peer deep in time to try to answer some of astronomy’s biggest questions. When – and how – did the first stars and galaxies form? And can we see the fingerprints of life in the atmospheres of distant worlds–or even within our own solar system?