The institute and astronomy community began shifting from the thrill of Webb’s beginnings to the new reality of a successfully operating science mission.
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July 12, 2023 marked one year of science operations for the James Webb Space Telescope, achieving arguably the most coveted prize: steady, efficient, high-return routine operations. Thanks to careful scheduling at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), Webb has spent about 80% of its time executing prime science programs, maximizing the time the telescope is actively gathering data. Once on the ground, STScI scientists have continued to improve the level of data calibration as part of an ongoing process in partnership with the international research community.
In 2023, there were two calls for proposals for Webb (a unique occurrence to offset its call from the Hubble Space Telescope’s proposal process in May). Both of Webb’s calls for proposals set records, and the third, in the autumn, surpassed all submission records—to any observatory—with 1,931 proposals. These requests to use the telescope were submitted by scientists from 56 countries, 47 states, and two U.S. territories.
Scientists were also busy writing papers about using Webb’s data. The institute’s Webb mission office counted almost 400 peer-reviewed journal publications by researchers around the world at the end of 2023—more than one per day that Webb has been in operation.
Supporting the astronomy community during this exciting period is a key role the institute plays as Webb’s Science Operations Center. Our scientists and engineers frequently improve the software that automatically processes all Webb data before it is formally added to our archive. Multiple methods of communication have been set up and are continually strengthened. The institute keeps the community up to date about Webb through its website, extensive user documentation, social media channels, and newsletters. The JWST Help Desk is a one-stop-shop for accessing expert help about any aspect of the observatory, and a place to report problems and concerns. In June, a Tools from the Community webpage was established as a hub for resources developed outside the institute. Additionally, after each proposal cycle a user survey was conducted to gage any needed improvements.
In addition to these virtual resources, the institute hosted two key opportunities for the scientific community to come together in Baltimore and online. The First Year of JWST Science Conference was held in September, covering a broad range of research, including our own Solar System, planets that orbit other stars, and some of the earliest galaxies to exist. In addition to formal talks, time was built in for in-depth discussions among the interdisciplinary attendees. Not only are all the talks archived online, several presenters also summarized what astronomers have collectively learned in a series of “Science Snippets” to share these early discoveries with everyone.
In November, the institute hosted the Improving JWST Data Products Workshop, where researchers shared how they have been working with Webb data and improved, extended, or superseded the standard software provided by STScI. Webb is still a very new observatory, and has highly advanced instruments, so our knowledgeable staff sourced and shared approaches used by astronomers worldwide for everyone’s benefit. The goal is to help everyone learn a lot more, and a lot faster, and ultimately release those tools and approaches publicly. The workshop included two days of hands-on sessions where participants could compare their methods and outputs, all with the overall goal of facilitating science and helping researchers make the most of the extraordinary data from Webb.
