We have a new supersensitive eye in the cosmic sky. Parked nearly one million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is 100 times more sensitive than the Hubble Space Telescope. JWST observes at “low” frequencies, from the red to the mid-infrared parts of the spectrum, offering new insights into a vast array of objects and processes -- including solar system formation, star birth and death, galaxy evolution, and, perhaps, the origins of life. The talk will include images and results from the first months of the telescope’s operation.

Professor Alex Filippenko was voted the University of California, Berkeley’s “best professor” nine times! He is the only astronomer to contribute to both research teams whose work earned the 2011 Physics Nobel Prize for discovering the acceleration of the expanding universe. He has produced five astronomy video courses with The Great Courses, co-authored an award-winning astronomy textbook, and appeared in about 100 TV documentaries. Among his many awards are the Education Prize of the American Astronomical Society and the Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization.

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This event will be held at the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College, in Los Altos. Foothill College is just off the El Monte Road exit from Freeway 280 in Los Altos. For directions and parking information, see: https://foothill.edu/parking/

For a campus map, to find the Smithwick Theater (Bldg. 1000), see: https://foothill.edu/map/

We ask that attendees be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 and wear a mask while indoors at the event. Extra masks will be provided. Thank you.

The recording will be made available later on YouTube

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This very special discussion can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures. Additional audio podcasts are also availavle for viewing at this site.