
It is worth checking out the BBC’s Sky at Night podcast if you want to follow the stars or just listen to astronomers discussing the night sky. Two recent episodes in particular, both related to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), should be on your podcast list.
- How James Webb Space Telescope Observes the Universe (broadcast on August 26, 2022): Dr Pamela Klaassen, an instrument scientist, reveals the science behind how JWST studies the cosmos, what its images show us, and the secrets it might uncover. She also discusses her work studying very large stars. Finally, the discussion covers the Square Kilometre Array Organization and how this brand new ground-based observatory will work in tandem with the JWST to unlock the secrets of the Universe.
- Exploring Exoplanets with JWST (broadcast on August 22, 2022): Dr Hannah Wakeford from the University of Bristol is part of an international collaboration of exoplanet hunters looking to see how the JWST can reveal the secrets of worlds orbiting stars beyond our solar system. One exoplanet priority for the JWST discussed during the episode is WASP-39b, the results of which were recently shared with the public.