This is an online event. The webinar will open at 11:30AM with opening remarks beginning around 11:45AM
Abstract:
CASTOR is a proposed wide-field space telescope being developed by the Canadian Space Agency and the National Research Council of Canada. The 1 m-diameter CASTOR telescope will produce panoramic imaging of the UV/optical sky using an innovative design to deliver Hubble-like image quality over a wide field of view (0.25 sq. deg., roughly equal to the full moon). Operating from low-earth orbit, CASTOR will be optimized for wide-field imaging surveys, but also features low- and medium-resolution spectroscopic capabilities in the ultraviolet, and precision photometers for observations of transiting exoplanets. The talk will describe the design and status of the mission and summarize its capabilities and uniqueness.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the most complex and powerful space telescope ever built. Canada’s contribution to the mission includes a scientific instrument and a guidance sensor. This presentation will provide an overview of Canada’s technical contributions to the project and will describe how the observatory’s initial observations are modifying our understanding of the universe.
Speakers:
Patrick Côté is an astronomer at the National Research Council’s Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre in Victoria, BC. He is the science lead for the CASTOR mission, and has been a frequent user of space telescopes, including Hubble, JWST, Astrosat, Chandra and Spitzer. His research interests include galaxies, galaxy clusters, star clusters and dwarf galaxies. He is the founder or co-founder of several landmark observing programs carried out with ground- and space-based telescopes, including the ACS Virgo and Fornax Cluster Surveys and the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey.
Dr. Chris Willott received his B.Sc. in Physics/Astrophysics from the University of Birmingham in 1994 and his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Oxford in 1998. He joined Herzberg in 2002. Chris is the Canadian Webb Project Scientist and the Webb Archive Scientist at the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre. Chris has worked on JWST for 16 years and as Canada’s JWST Project Scientist, his job is to enable Canadian scientists to maximize the Government of Canada's investment in JWST. JWST was launched on Christmas Day, 2021 and released its first operational pictures on July 13th, 2022. Chris is also the Principal Investigator of The CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS) which studies galaxies in the early universe. He continues to study the growth of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies over cosmic time. He is active in professional groups, including Member of the James Webb Space Telescope Science Working Group; and a Member of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA). He has also won key awards, including Canadian Space Agency Fellow (2007 – 2008) and Plaskett Fellowship, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, NRC (2002-2006).