The James Webb Space Telescope is the most ambitious, the most expensive, and potentially the most productive scientific instrument ever built. It serves as a replacement for the decades-old Hubble telescope, with vast improvements: it is much larger, more sensitive, and able to study the heavens in infrared light, enabling it to see farther out into space and farther back in time than any of its predecessors. The JWST is designed to not only probe the details of the Big Bang that created the known universe, perhaps solve the ongoing puzzles about dark matter and dark energy, and also study nearby stars and their planets to search for the possible existence of life.

This event is free and offered both in-person and online.  It is presented by club member Mark Whipple.  Mark has been teaching space science for 45 years, including in Asheville since 2012. His other activities include tennis, bridge, pub trivia, and worrying about the future.