Hubble vs JWST: What’s the difference and why should we care?

The launch of the JWST in December has now revealed extraordinary images from space. Join Dr. Laura Parker from the Department of Physics & Astronomy for a short and informative lunchtime talk where she will show stunning visuals of space and will discuss this new telescope and its importance to science. A Q&A session will follow to answer your telescope and space-related questions.

About the speaker: Laura Parker is a Professor and University Scholar in the Department. She is an observational astronomer and her research group is interested in questions related to galaxy evolution and observational cosmology. In particular, using data from ground- and space-based observatories, she is trying to understand the mechanisms driving galaxy transformation over cosmic time. Her group is also interested in understanding the connection between galaxy properties and the properties of the environments in which they are found, including the relationship between galaxies and their host dark matter halos.

Her research is funded by the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada. Dr. Parker received the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award in 2013 and the John C. Polanyi Prize for Physics in 2009. She has served in many research-related leadership roles, including chairing the Gemini Observatory Science and Technology Committee, the Canada France Hawaii Telescope Science Advisory Council, and the Joint Canadian Space Astronomy Committee.