The Challenges of Observations From the James Webb Space Telescope

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The James Webb Space Telescope has found galaxies that are far away and therefore early in the history of the universe. This is something we could talk about for a whole hour I think because this is, you know, really exciting cutting edge stuff. But let's just rewind for a moment. Let's imagine the Hubble Space Telescope launch. It had the faulty optics which then got got fixed by by an astronaut spacewalk. And reaching out much further to see the story of galaxy formation much further than has been possible in the past.

It's somewhat amazing that cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, can make any progress at all. But it has, especially so in recent decades. Partly that's because nature has been kind to us in some ways: the universe is quite a simple place on large scales and at early times. Another reason is a leap forward in the data we have collected, and in the growing use of a powerful tool: computer simulations. I talk with cosmologist Andrew Pontzen on what we know about the universe, and how simulations have helped us figure it out. We also touch on hot topics in cosmology (early galaxies discovered by JWST) as well as philosophical issues (are simulations data or theory?).

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Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/06/19/240-andrew-pontz…and-the-universe/

Andrew Pontzen received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Cambridge. He is currently Professor of Cosmology at University College London. In addition to his research in cosmology, he frequently writes popular articles and appears in science documentaries. His new book is The Universe in a Box: Simulations and the Quest to Code the Cosmos.

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