The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most powerful space telescope currently in existence, has awarded 5.1 hours of observation time to a team of researchers that includes Westminster College Assistant Professor of Physics Dr. Matteo Luisi.

The team—led by Dr. Dana Balser from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Va. —will observe ionized gas in the galaxy with their observation time, which is valued at roughly $870,000.  

According to Luisi, a co-investigator on the team, only one in nine proposals to use the JWST are accepted for observations to be carried out.

“The fact that our proposal was accepted shows that our proposed research will likely yield exciting science results and will be useful to the community,” said Luisi.

Observations obtained from using the JWST will help Luisi and his team gain a greater knowledge of the space between stars and other objects known as the “interstellar medium” of our galaxy.  

Researchers believe this seemingly empty space contains approximately 10 percent of the mass of our galaxy in the form of diffuse gas and dust. Part of the interstellar medium is in the form of warm ionized gas but it is not clear what causes the gas to be ionized.  

Luisi and his fellow researchers hypothesize that the radiation from low-mass evolved stars (UV stars) significantly contributes to the process. The team will use the JWST to observe infrared light emitted by neon, argon and sulfur atoms in the interstellar medium.  

In addition to the JWST observations, the team will conduct radio observations with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT).  Luisi’s role will be to assist in reducing and analyzing both the JWST and the GBT data.

“These observations will tell us how energetic the warm ionized gas is and in combination with simulations we’ll be able to show whether radiation from UV stars could be responsible for its ionization,” said Luisi.

JWST launched in 2021 and travelled one million miles away to orbit the sun, unlike the Hubble Space Telescope which orbits the Earth.  

The JWST headquarters are located at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. The JWST team was given detailed instructions on how to conduct the necessary observations needed for Luisi’s data collection. The cumulative data will be sent to Luisi and his team remotely for analysis.

“I am thrilled that our proposal was one of the selected few to be observed next year. Our observations will enable us to deeply probe the interstellar medium and increase our understanding of a mysterious component of our galaxy. I feel fortunate to be part of this amazing team and look forward to analyzing the data that will come of this proposal,” said Luisi.

Luisi, who also serves as the director of the Westminster Planetarium, joined the Westminster College faculty in 2021. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in technical physics from Graz University of Technology in Austria and his doctorate in physics from West Virginia University.

For more information, please contact Luisi at luisimd@westminster.edu.

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