Virtual only!

Speaker: Jarron Leisenring (Univ Arizona)

Title: JWST Early Observations of Exoplanets and Disks

Abstract: Observations with JWST's newly commissioned instruments allow us to characterize the physical properties of exoplanets and the circumstellar environments in which they form and evolve. I will present preliminary results from Early Release Science (ERS) and NIRCam GTO programs, focusing on high contrast imaging and spectroscopy of nearby exoplanets and disks. This talk will demonstrate the power of JWST to characterize the atmospheres of known brown dwarfs and exoplanets, their natal protoplanetary environments, as well as evolved debris disks and belts. The ERS data in particular have already provided a wealth of new information about the atmospheric properties across the near- and mid-IR, including high contrast imaging of the exoplanet HIP 65426b at 2-16 micron and direct spectroscopy of the planetary mass object VHS1256b at 1-21 microns. These observations provide a glimpse into the wide variety of exoplanet science opportunities over the next decade enabled by the unprecedented sensitivity and stability of JWST and its powerful suite of instruments.

Short Bio: Jarron Leisenring is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Arizona, specializing in infrared detectors and high contrast imaging observational techniques to better understand formation and evolution of planets. He has spent the better part of the past decade working as part of NIRCam instrument team, participating in instrument-level testing, telescope commissioning, and finally science operations. He is looking forward to the next 15-20 years of JWST science.