{"id":125310,"date":"2022-01-10T09:02:20","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T14:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=125310"},"modified":"2022-01-10T09:03:21","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T14:03:21","slug":"ucf-scientist-with-stake-in-james-webb-space-telescope-closely-monitoring-unfolding-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-scientist-with-stake-in-james-webb-space-telescope-closely-monitoring-unfolding-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Scientist with Stake in James Webb Space Telescope Closely Monitoring Unfolding Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planetary Scientist Noemi Pinilla-Alonso has become addicted to NASA TV because of its live feeds of the James Webb Space Telescope mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The telescope, more than 20 years in the making and after multiple delays, launched on Dec. 25, 2021. The telescope is traveling quickly to reach its destination \u2014 900,000 miles away from Earth \u2014 where it will begin taking never-before-possible images of space. It will be able to produce images and a range of other data that are invaluable to researchers trying to understand our solar system and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe collection of observing programs approved by the JWST lets us envision several first-of-a-kind discoveries in the next 10 years that could transform our understanding of the early stages in the formation of the universe, of the nature of the seeds of life on habitable planets, and to complete the picture of the birth and growth of solar systems, including our own,\u201d says Pinilla-Alonso. \u201cIt is just an amazing time to be in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pinilla-Alonso is one of a few hundred scientists who will get first crack at accessing the Webb once it\u2019s fully operational<\/a>. The scientists will be using the telescope to find new galaxies, explore the formation of stars, and better understand the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems including our own.<\/p>\n

Pinilla-Alonso, a planetary scientist at the UCF-based Florida Space Institute, will work on three studies, including an ambitious project to study 59 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and centaurs in our solar system. That\u2019s why she has more than 100 hours of observation time reserved on the James Webb telescope.<\/p>\n