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Abstract:
In 1974, fearless physicists proposed to measure the Big Bang with a space observatory, the Cosmic Background Explorer, COBE. Launched in 1989, it provided the beginning of precision cosmology, supporting the expanding universe concept (misnamed the Big Bang Theory), and establishing the initial conditions for the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and people. Our history includes self-heating by gravitational energy release in the collapse of gas clouds, self-heating by nuclear fusion in stars, explosive energy release and recycling of stellar material in supernovae, and eventual formation of planets. New space and ground observatories are poised to reveal even more. The James Webb Space Telescope, planned for launch in March 2021, will be able to see a bumblebee at the distance of the Moon. With JWST, astronomers will search for the first stars and galaxies, examine star and planet formation hidden inside dusty gas clouds, and observe exoplanets as they transit in front of their stars.
Bio-sketch:
John Mather is the senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where he has worked since 1976. He was the lead scientist for the COBE mission and shared the Nobel Prize in Physics (2006) for this work.
