NASA's Curious Universe What Webb Is Teaching Us About Our Solar System
Sep 23, 2025
Katherine de Kleer, an assistant professor at Caltech, specializes in solar system studies using the James Webb Space Telescope. She shares how Webb is revolutionizing our understanding of asteroids, icy moons, and volcanic worlds. The discussion highlights Webb's unique infrared capabilities, revealing details about Io's surface and the mineral composition of asteroids. Katherine also emphasizes Webb's role in enhancing knowledge of Jupiter and Saturn's moons and its significance for future space missions, bridging solar system and exoplanet research.
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Moment That Sparked A Career
- Katherine de Kleer first fell for planetary science when Keck images of Io showed bright volcanic heat spots on individual volcanoes.
- She realized telescopes could study atmospheric dynamics and volcanism on other worlds just like Earth science.
Infrared Unlocks Hidden Molecules
- Webb's infrared capability reveals faint signals and wavelengths blocked by Earth's atmosphere, giving access to key molecular features.
- This makes Webb uniquely able to detect water and CO2 signatures on solar system bodies that ground telescopes miss.
Engineering For Fast, Bright Targets
- Webb must track fast-moving nearby solar system targets and handle very bright sources, challenges unlike deep-space observations.
- The telescope was adapted to accommodate solar system needs despite being designed for faint, distant targets.