Hubble & Webb, an Insider’s View – John Figoski
Best Bet
Lecture/Talk/Discussion/Panel/Q&A
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Sun, Aug 04 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Address (map)
1539 Mission Dr., Solvang
Learn about the Hubble Telescope and the James Webb Telescope from one who was there. Why were these programs funded? How do they work? Hear stories about the design and construction of these great observatories. Learn what went wrong with the Hubble mirror. Learn why the James Webb is probably the most complex “machine” ever built. Personal stories and insights provide a human context to these amazing programs.
About the speaker:
John Figoski was the chief optical designer for the Digital Globe commercial imaging telescope that helped establish high-resolution images for commercial use such as Google Maps and Google Earth. He has been an avid amateur astronomer most of his life and joined Perkin-Elmer and worked on the Hubble Telescope from 1977 – 1986. He then moved to Santa Barbara Research Center from 1986 – 1995 and worked on Earth-science telescopes that have helped underpin our understanding of climate change. From 1995 – 2014 he worked at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, CO and participated in many aspects of the James Webb telescope development. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the Univ. of Texas, and a Master’s degree in Optics from the Univ of Arizona, Optical Sciences Center.