The James Webb Space Telescope is the most complex and powerful space telescope humanity has ever built. Poised to launch this December, its array of 18 hexagonal mirrors function as a single mirror 6.5 metres across, allowing us to observe farther into the Universe than we have ever seen before.
This historic project is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency — so what is Canada doing? Find out in this Speaker Series talk, The James Webb Space Telescope: Canada’s role in the exploration of the Universe.
Hosted by RASC outreach co-ordinator Jenna Hinds and SkyNews editor-in-chief Allendria Brunjes, the speakers are Jean Dupuis, senior mission scientist in space astronomy at the Canadian Space Agency, and Nathalie Ouellette, coordinator of the Exoplanet Research Institute at the Université de Montréal and the scientific coordinator for the James Webb Space Telescope in Canada.
Listen as these Canadian Space Agency experts speak about the Canadian contribution to Webb and answer your questions about the mission. This talk will be a fantastic way to get the tools to become an ambassador for this exciting mission and speak about Webb with your community, students, local science centres and astronomy clubs.
About the speakers
Jean Dupuis, PhD, is a senior mission scientist in space astronomy at the Canadian Space Agency. He is currently the CSA mission scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope and the scientific authority on several studies for future space astronomy missions being considered by CSA. He is working in close collaboration with a community of scientists and engineers across Canada to help them meet their science objectives and prepare for future space astronomy missions. After receiving his PhD from the Université de Montréal (1991), he spent many years in the United States working at Dartmouth College, at the University of California at Berkeley and at Johns Hopkins University as a scientist for space astronomy missions before returning to Canada in 2005 to join the CSA.
Nathalie Ouellette is an astrophysicist and passionate about science communication. She received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in 2016. Her research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxies, particularly those found in groups and clusters. In addition to being an active researcher, she is frequently featured in the media talking about astronomy to the general public. She is currently the coordinator of the Exoplanet Research Institute at the Université de Montréal and the scientific coordinator for the James Webb Space Telescope in Canada.
The Fédération des astronomes amateurs du Québec, with the Canadian Space Agency, are offering a French-language webinar on October 28 at 7:30 p.m. Register here to reserve your place.
