WEBINAR- TIME TRAVEL TO THE BIG BANG

(APRIL 18, 2021)

NASA's world-renowned Project Scientist Dr Matthew Greenhouse has conducted a Live interactive session attended by students of middle and senior wing and teachers on April 18, 2021 from  06:00 PM.to 7:30 PM. He shared about NASA's most expensive and most powerful telescope ever, James Webb Telescope. Dr Matthew Greenhouse conducted the webinar on virtual platforms – Zoom and YouTube.

The Webinar focussed on following topics:

Primary Goals of Webb (WBST): To study galaxy, star and planet formation in the universe and to study every phase in the history of our Universe ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth and finally to the evolution of our own Solar System.

Innovative technologies developed for Webb (WBST) AND ITS SPACING AT L2 LOCATION:

• Primary mirror made of 18 separate segments that unfold and adjust to shape after launch. The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium.
• Tennis court sized five-layer sunshield that attenuates heat from the Sun more than a million times.
• Cameras and spectrometers which have detectors that are able to record extremely faint signals.
• One instrument (NIRS pec) has programmable micro shutters, which enable observation up to 100 objects simultaneously.
• Cryocooler for cooling the mid-infrared detectors of another instrument (MIRI) to a very cold 7 kelvins (minus 447 Fahrenheit) so that they can work in extreme environment.

He also discussed about the skill sets required for joining the space observatory which is Engineering, Science and Mathematics. It was a wonderful and very knowledgeable session for the students as well as the teachers.