Dr Heidi B. Hammel
@hbhammel
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planetary astronomer | nearly famous | jwst interdisciplinary scientist | looks just like an ordinary mom | oboist (thoughts expressed here are my own)
Joined July 2017
This nice summary article about using JWST to explore our own Solar System came out while I was away. So wonderful to see many results from my guaranteed JWST time highlighted here.
science.nasa.gov
Whether exploring the small bodies or giant planets of our solar system, the James Webb Space Telescope is revolutionizing our understanding of our closest
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🌞🔭 Celebrating 30 years! The GONG station at CTIO has been providing near-continuous solar observations, helping scientists map the Sun’s interior in real time.
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Are we there yet? 🏜️🚘The NSF Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope can be seen from over 50 miles away over the beautiful Tohono O'odham Nation. Book your tour at https://t.co/ruU2XlmXKo 📷 Anne W. Durrance/Indian Oasis-Baboquivari Unified School District No. 40
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FOR THE LOVE OF NEPTUNE, APPLY! 😍🔵🚀🔭
PhD Project focus: Exploring the Atmospheres of Uranus & Neptune with JWST We're advertising this project with Prof Leigh Fletcher, using JWST data to investigate the changing atmospheres of the ice giants For details of all our #PhD projects look here: https://t.co/OJKpQ9j8bb
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A chance to catch one of my talks, if you’re interested in exploring our Solar System with JWST!
Our fascinating Public Lecture Series is now on YouTube! We currently have the 2022-2025 lectures available to watch. https://t.co/No1tSKH9rs
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Now that the US gov is open, 3I/ATLAS images from the Mars-orbiting HiRISE camera will soon be out. My money is on them looking just like regular cometary images. If that disappoints you, scan the HiRISE catalog for spectacular Mars images like this one https://t.co/ANuybFRmSC
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The brightest point in this Hubble image of FS Tau is a binary system, consisting of two stars orbiting each other, that have cleared much of its surrounding dust and gas away. Credit: NASA, ESA, K. Stapelfeldt (NASA JPL), G. Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America). 🔭 🧪
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💡Fun fact: while an #aurora is initiated by a CME or burst of solar wind, the electrons impacting our atmosphere and creating these colorful displays are actually accelerated in the Earth's magneto-tail: they are not solar particles at all, but our own 🌎
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The new JWST proposals for Cycle 5 represent 7,509 unique investigators (!) over a range of career stages, and come from institutions in 59 countries and 47 U.S. states. Read more at: https://t.co/BgNJrtKaXx 2/2
stsci.edu
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JWST is still in recording-breaking demand. JWST's recent Cycle 5 call garnered 2,935 proposals (proposals are requests to use this amazing telescope and its data) - this broke the record that JWST set just last year; more info in first comment below 1/2
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STScI has three goals: 1) to excel in the science operations of NASA's current and future astrophysics missions; 2) to advance astronomical research, archives, and tools for scientific discovery; and 3) to make astronomical information accessible to all: https://t.co/1GXQ7qjfxT
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#3IATLAS. Many people are posting false images and news about Comet 3I/ATLAS and discussing artificial acceleration. Today, I recalculated the comet's orbit using over 4,000 current observations, and I can assure you that none of these claims are true.
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NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory will do more than hunt for life. This summer scientists put forward 100 ideas for the ‘scope including planetary defense, studying Venus, and even observing individual stars in distant galaxies. Me in Nature Astronomy https://t.co/LecznADzdp
nature.com
Nature Astronomy - The Habitable Worlds Observatory will look for inhabited worlds beyond our Solar System in the 2040s and scientists are dreaming of what else it might do.
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Happy to share that the "What's Your Map?" podcast just won a Gold Award for Best Education Podcast from the British Podcast Awards 2025 - you can find a link to the podcast I participated in about celestial maps via: https://t.co/3PUuePfecE
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The team realized they'd overextended their analogies and revised their press release to be more accurate: they developed a software tool to correct electronic distortions due to charge bleed within an infrared detector. It's good work! JWST is awesome.
sydney.edu.au
Two Sydney PhD students have found a fix to sharpen the images coming from a key instrument on board the James Webb Space Telescope. Louis Desdoigts and Max Charles are so thrilled, they got a tattoo...
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I always enjoy walking past the Hubble images at Dulles, and now they will be joined by JWST images, perhaps even one from my program! Looking forward to seeing them on my next trip.
Flying through Dulles Airport near D.C.? If you’re taking the Metro, expect to be awed by almost 40 recently installed images from #NASAWebb, paired with more than 30 from the ever-active Hubble, on your way to the main terminal: https://t.co/1SDgVd1zSz
#wmata 🔭 🧪
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🌌 Heads up, sky watchers! A strong geomagnetic storm is forecast tonight! The best chances for aurora viewing (subject to shift) looks like between 8–11 PM ET and again before sunrise Friday. Get all the details 👉 https://t.co/3oMbFZm2LG
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I just saw a clickbait article about how "AI helped fix JWST's blurry vision." For the record, JWST's vision is just fine! The article is about one particular mode of one instrument that doesn't work well. JWST is doing great - at the peak of its game!
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Amazing movie of Jupiter's aurora by JWST
In 2023, #NASAWebb observed a spectacular light show on Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The planet’s auroras are hundreds of times brighter and more energetic than Earth’s. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Nichols (University of Leicester), M. Zamani (ESA/Webb). 🔭 🧪
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