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Connecticut scientists hope to benefit from the James Webb Space Telescope

Connecticut Public Radio | By Matt Dwyer
Published July 13, 2022 at 3:57 PM EDT
A landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth
NASA/ESA
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CSA/STScI
NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth in the Carina Nebula.

Scientists at Yale University and the University of Connecticut will soon be poring over data from the new, powerful James Webb Space Telescope.

“I’m actually just blown away. It’s more spectacular than I could have imagined,” Jonathan Trump, UConn associate professor of physics, said in describing the images and information released so far.

Talking remotely from his office with colleagues around the world receiving data from the Webb telescope, UConn physics professor Jonathan Trump said the information was providing images from a time when the universe was less than a billion years old, “This is the beginning of the universe,” he said, “This is why we're so excited.”
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope is displayed on the computer of UConn physics associate professor Jonathan Trump while he talks remotely from his office with colleagues around the world. Trump said the information is providing images from a time when the universe was less than a billion years old, “This is the beginning of the universe,” he said. “This is why we're so excited.”

Trump hopes to use data from the space telescope to solve a chicken-or-egg question involving galaxies and the black holes at their centers.

“Does the galaxy form first, and then the black hole slowly form at its center? Or do we start with black hole seeds, or black hole eggs, and then galaxies form around them? How do galaxies and their black holes form and grow over almost 14 billion years of cosmic time?” Trump asked.

He is part of a group of scientists receiving data Thursday, July 14, from observations the telescope has already made.

On Friday, Trump will fly to the Space Telescope Science Institute to meet with fellow researchers to discuss the information gathered.

Talking remotely from his office with colleagues around the world receiving data from the Webb telescope, UConn physics professor Jonathan Trump said the information was providing images from a time when the universe was less than a billion years old, “This is the beginning of the universe,” he said, “This is why we're so excited.”
Mark Mirko
/
Connecticut Public
UConn physics associate professor Jonathan Trump talks remotely with colleagues around the world about information they just received from the Webb telescope.

Yale,Astronomy Department Chair Priyamvada Natarajan was traveling Wednesday but said in an email that she has made many predictions that can be tested or validated by data from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Natarajan said she has a lot riding on the data.
News
Matt Dwyer
Matt Dwyer is an editor, reporter and midday host for Connecticut Public's news department. He produces local news during All Things Considered.
See stories by Matt Dwyer

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Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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