sci16011 — Announcement

Science With the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes — V. An update

12 October 2016

The organisation of the upcoming conference “Science with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes V” in Venice is doing very well. A Science Organisation Committee has been assembled and they are working hard to shape the scientific programme. A number of prominent invited speakers have already confirmed their participation and with the abstract submission deadline just passed, a large number of abstracts have been received. We thank you all for your interest in this conference.

These are interesting times: the Hubble Space Telescope has just celebrated 26 years in orbit and is expected to be a powerful observatory even beyond 2022. The James Webb Space Telescope is planned to launch in the autumn of 2018, so there will most likely be an overlap of several years between the two missions. This is a unique and very exciting scientific opportunity. Accordingly, the conference is dedicated to the synergy between Hubble and JWST, and how best to prepare to take immediate advantage of the amazing opportunities presented by having the two observatories operating together.

All speakers are asked to share their vision of this opportunity. In addition to showcasing their latest results, speakers are asked to think about the future: what will JWST do for their science and what synergies can be exploited by operating Hubble and Webb at the same time?

Over the next month, the Science Organisation Committee will be very busy reading all the abstracts submitted and selecting the contributing speakers. It is planned to give ample space to contributed talks, both to showcase the breadth of the Hubble science programme, and to allow a comprehensive presentation of the latest results. It is expected that all contributing speakers will be informed by the beginning of November, and registration will open soon afterwards. At this venue, space limitations are less of a constraint, so most likely a large presence can be allowed.

A number of additional events are planned for the conference as well: an evening lecture on the current status of, and expectations for, JWST by Nobel Laureate John Mather; a set of discussion panels dealing with a variety of interesting topics related to challenges of space astronomy; and the Art & Science exhibition Our Place In Space, based on spectacular Hubble imagery and artists’ interpretations of existential questions.

Keep an eye on the STScI website for the conference announcements, and if you have any questions please send an email to ScienceV@stsci.edu.

Contacts

Antonella Nota
ESA HST Project Scientist, STScI
Email: nota@stsci.edu

Pierre Ferruit
JWST Project Scientist
Email: Pierre.Ferruit@cosmos.esa.int