This week came with the announcement of selected Early Release Science (ERS) programs for the James Webb Space Telescope as a part of the Director’s Discretionary Time. ERS programs are an opportunity for investigators to have access to the earliest science data and test out various instrument modes. In turn the successful ERS teams deliver science-enabling products to the community, a set of software tools, data reduction procedures, and/or performance assessments. These are to facilitate future observation cycles and subsequent data reduction. Several University of Michigan affiliates are investigators of selected ERS programs including professors, research staff, and graduate students.

From our group Prof. Michael Meyer and Dr. Alexandra Greenbaum are Co-Is for the “High Contrast Imaging of Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems with JWST” program (PI: Sasha Hinkley — U. Exeter). The 39-hour program includes high contrast imaging of a known exoplanetary system and a circumstellar debris disk, as well as spectroscopic characterization of a wide-separation planetary mass companion from 2-28 micron. The program with utilize NIRCam, NIRSpec, NIRISS, and MIRI. The abstract can be accessed here. Dr. Greenbaum is co-lead of the NIRISS Aperture Masking Interferometry (AMI) sub-program to place upper limits on the presence of bright companions close in to a known imaged exoplanet host and and to characterize the contrast limit of this imaging mode. JWST is scheduled to Launch in the spring of 2019 and ERS observations are expected to start towards the end of the year.