355 Harris Ave.
Imagine locating a star 12.9 billion light-years distant from us, or spotting a planet harboring the chemicals needed for life, or discovering a “phantom” galaxy or observing a galaxy that was born soon after the Big Bang and is now practicing cannibalism with its galactic neighbors.
Yep! Within minutes after the James Webb Space Telescope started collecting data on Christmas Day, 2021, these incredible discoveries occurred. This class combines theory with practice to help us understand what is happening in the cosmos and why.
General themes include:
Why an infrared telescope is necessary,
Why our current theories of galaxy formation must be refined,
Why our confidence in Einstein is strengthened further, and
What the immediate future in astrophysics holds for us.
Instructor: David Tucker
David Tucker is a retired science teacher and an astronomy hobbyist. He spent time at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey studying laser physics. Presently, he is an ambassador presenter for LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravity-wave Observatory) at Richland, Washington.
He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence, and he believes everyone can benefit from learning about the cosmos we live in.
