The 247^th American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting will include sessions focused on groundbreaking science with JWST, as well as a report from STScI as we get ready to wrap up JWST's Cycle 4, prepare for Cycle 5 observations, and plan the Cycle 6 call for proposals.

Special Session: JWST ♡ Brown Dwarfs: Discoveries, Populations, and Atmospheres

Tuesday, January 6, 2026
2:00 to 3:30 p.m. (MT)
Co-organizers: Adam Burgasser, UC San Diego; Michael Cushing, University of Toledo; and Jacqueline Faherty, American Museum of Natural History
Session Chair: Adam Burgasser

The launch of JWST has revolutionized multiple fields in astronomy and astrophysics, from small bodies in the Solar System to the most distant objects in the Universe. The facility's high infrared sensitivity, high angular resolution, and spectroscopic reach make it particularly suited to advance studies of the lowest-mass stars and substellar objects, particularly L, T and Y dwarfs spanning temperatures of 250 K to 2500 K. This special session will highlight several of the exciting discoveries that are emerging from the multitude of approved JWST programs ongoing or published, from detailed characterization of the coldest directly-detected atmospheres; to the youngest and lowest-mass free-floating objects in young clusters; to our first examples of ancient brown dwarfs in globular clusters, Galactic streams, and satellite galaxies. We will also feature the theoretical insights that are emerging from these observational studies, from low-temperature atmosphere dynamics and chemistry to the extremities of star formation, and magnetic. 

This timely session will include seven 10-minute topical talks, a 5-10-minute poster pop featuring presenters in the associated poster session, and a panel Q&A. The session is also aligned with Burgasser's scheduled plenary talk on JWST observations of distant brown dwarfs, and would be optimally scheduled on the same day.

Special Session: JWST Deep Galaxy Searches: What We've Learned from the First 3 Years

Wednesday, January 7, 2026
10:00 to 11:30 a.m. (MT)
Session Chair: Marcia Rieke

The James Webb Space Telescope has already spent hundreds of hours executing deep surveys. Aside from discovering galaxies at the highest redshifts, these surveys have led to the discovery of mysterious “Little Red Dots” and quenched galaxies in the epoch of reionization. Other topics include abundance patterns at high redshift that differ from the patterns seen in low redshift galaxies, evidence for bursty star formation, and more puzzles in the relationship between galaxies and their nuclear black holes. Evidence for dust playing a larger role than thought earlier is accumulating. A new paradigm for galaxy formation, star formation, and early black hole growth will be needed to fold these findings into a broader framework for galaxy formation and evolution. This session presents results from a sampling of JWST observations and theoretical work to explain these observations.

JWST at the STScI Town Hall

Wednesday, January 7, 2026
12:45 to 1:45 p.m. (MT)

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) serves the astronomical community through the operation of multiple NASA flagship missions including the Hubble, Webb, and Roman Space Telescopes, the development of advanced data and science archives, including Kepler and TESS, and the dissemination of astronomical information to the broadest public audiences. Offering this breadth of resources to help the scientific community advance, STScI provides support and the primary user interface for Hubble, Webb and Roman. STScI will contribute to a wide range of workshops, science sessions, splinter meetings, and exhibits throughout the meeting.  

The STScI Town Hall will serve as the center piece for STScI's AAS247 presence. We will report on the status of our existing and upcoming missions and describe new opportunities designed to advance astrophysics into the 2020s. In particular, we will present updates on Hubble and Webb operations in light of the current budget constraints. We will describe the science opportunities afforded by Roman, with the first Call for Proposals released in October, include a progress report on the JWST/HST Rocky Worlds Director’s Discretionary Time program, and highlight synergies with the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory. The presenters will include the STScI Director and Associate Director for Science. There will be  time for discussion to receive community input regarding new capabilities and to answer questions about our activities in the coming year.

Special Session: Extragalactic Time Domain Science with JWST

Thursday, January 8, 2026
10:00 to 11:30 a.m. (MT)
Organizer: Brenda Frye, University of Arizona
Session Chair: Brenda Frye

The James Webb Space Telescope has opened up vast new territory awaiting exploration. One especially fruitful area is time domain science. This special session is motivated in part to discuss an envisioned ~1000 hours of JWST Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) to monitor the transient sky. The AAS is the ideal forum for communicating this science and drawing ideas from the community. Some key areas that will serve as a basis for discussion are measurement of cosmological parameters, tests of fundamental physics, and the study of high-redshift stars and variability in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs).

The goal of this special session is to engage the community and gather inputs to plan for the next steps.

JWST at the STScI Exhibitor Booth

January 4-8
During regular booth hours

We have many resources in the booth to step you through planning observations with JWST. Our expert staff members will be on hand to provide assistance on a variety of topics, including JWST instrument capabilities, proposal tools (e.g., APT and ETC), pipeline products, and data analysis tools. 

AAS website