Gillian Wright (astronomer)

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Gillian Wright

CBE FRSE
Born
Gillian Susan Wright
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsInfrared observatories, astronomical instrumentation, star formation and dust in interacting galaxies
Institutions
Thesis Infrared activity in interacting galaxies  (1987)
Doctoral advisor Robert Joseph

Gillian Susan Wright CBE FRSE is a Scottish astronomer who is currently the director of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh, UK. She has also been involved in the development and construction of the James Webb Space Telescope as the European Principal Investigator for the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). In 2006 Wright was appointed MBE for services to science. [1]

Contents

Education

Wright attended a comprehensive school in the town of Hamilton, where she studied for Scottish Highers in Chemistry, English, French, Maths and Physics, then went on to study Natural Philosophy (Physics) at the University of Glasgow. [2] She then pursued postgraduate studies at Imperial College London, firstly obtaining an master's degree in 1982. Wrights master's thesis, titled Design study for a large balloon-borne far infrared telescope investigates the practicalities of a balloon mounted infra-red telescope, including techniques for making lightweight mirrors, optical configurations and potential structural problems. [3] Wright then submitted her PhD at the same institute, titled Infrared activity in interacting galaxies, in 1986. This work investigated the cause of unusually intense Infra-red activity in the nuclei of interacting galaxies, concluding that the most likely cause was recent bursts of star formation. [4] [5]

Career

After her PhD, Wright was appointed a fellowship position at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. She was then staff scientist at the UK Infrared Telescope in Hawaii, and later became the Head of Instrumentation there from 1995 to 1997. [6] In 1997 Wright returned to Edinburgh to join the newly formed UK Astronomy Technology Centre, where she currently holds the position of director. [5] [1] She is also a visiting professor at the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy and a member of the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) International Advisory Committee. [7] [8]

Space telescopes

Over her career Wright has been involved in a number of space telescope projects. She was a co-investigator for the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver instrument (SPIRE) on European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory, which was active from 2009 to 2013. [1] [9] She is currently the European Principal for the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, as well as being a member of the project's science working group. [1] MIRI was completed in 2012, when it was shipped to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre for incorporation [10] into the telescope, which was launched on 25 December 2021. [11]

Honours

Wright was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2006 for services to science [12] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to astronomy through international missions. [13]

She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [14]

Related Research Articles

Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers, and falls in between visible radiation, which ranges from 380 to 750 nanometers, and submillimeter waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. M. Keck Observatory</span> Astronomical observatory in Hawaii

The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have 10 m (33 ft) aperture primary mirrors, and, when completed in 1993 and 1996, they were the largest optical reflecting telescopes in the world. They are currently the third and fourth largest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spitzer Space Telescope</span> Infrared space telescope (2003–2020)

The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), is an infrared space telescope launched in 2003, that was deactivated when operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, following IRAS (1983) and ISO (1995–1998). It was the first spacecraft to use an Earth-trailing orbit, later used by the Kepler planet-finder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Webb Space Telescope</span> NASA/ESA/CSA space telescope launched in 2021

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. Its high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephan's Quintet</span> Visual grouping of five galaxies

Stephan's Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies of which four form the first compact galaxy group ever discovered. The group, visible in the constellation Pegasus, was discovered by Édouard Stephan in 1877 at the Marseille Observatory. The group is the most studied of all the compact galaxy groups. The brightest member of the visual grouping is NGC 7320, which has extensive H II regions, identified as red blobs, where active star formation is occurring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steward Observatory</span> Observatory in Tucson, Arizona (US)

Steward Observatory is the research arm of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Its offices are located on the UArizona campus in Tucson, Arizona (US). Established in 1916, the first telescope and building were formally dedicated on April 23, 1923. It now operates, or is a partner in telescopes at five mountain-top locations in Arizona, one in New Mexico, one in Hawaii, and one in Chile. It has provided instruments for three different space telescopes and numerous terrestrial ones. Steward also has one of the few facilities in the world that can cast and figure the very large primary mirrors used in telescopes built in the early 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Observatories program</span> Series of NASA satellites

NASA's series of Great Observatories satellites are four large, powerful space-based astronomical telescopes launched between 1990 and 2003. They were built with different technology to examine specific wavelength/energy regions of the electromagnetic spectrum: gamma rays, X-rays, visible and ultraviolet light, and infrared light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herschel Space Observatory</span> ESA space telescope in service 2009–2013

The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021. Herschel carries a 3.5-metre (11.5 ft) mirror and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 µm). Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme, following SOHO/Cluster II, XMM-Newton and Rosetta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Observatory, Edinburgh</span> Observatory

The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) is an astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) of STFC, the Institute for Astronomy of the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh, and the ROE Visitor Centre.

The UK Astronomy Technology Centre is based at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Edward L. (Ned) Wright is an American astrophysicist and cosmologist. He has worked on space missions including the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) projects.

Frank James Low was a solid state physicist who became a leader in the new field of infrared astronomy, after inventing the gallium doped germanium bolometer in 1961. This detector extended the range of the observable spectrum to much longer wavelengths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infrared telescope</span> Telescope that uses infrared light

An infrared telescope is a telescope that uses infrared light to detect celestial bodies. Infrared light is one of several types of radiation present in the electromagnetic spectrum.

George Henry Rieke, a noted American infrared astronomer, is former Deputy Director of the Steward Observatory and Regents Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He led the experiment design and development team for the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) instrument on NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope, and currently chairs the science team of the Mid-Infrared Instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balloon-borne telescope</span>

A balloon-borne telescope is a type of airborne telescope, a sub-orbital astronomical telescope that is suspended below one or more stratospheric balloons, allowing it to be lifted above the lower, dense part of the Earth's atmosphere. This has the advantage of improving the resolution limit of the telescope at a much lower cost than for a space telescope. It also allows observation of frequency bands that are blocked by the atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Infrared Instrument</span> Camera and spectrometer on the James Webb Space Telescope

MIRI, or the Mid-Infrared Instrument, is an instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. MIRI is a camera and a spectrograph that observes mid to long infrared radiation from 5 to 28 microns. It also has coronagraphs, especially for observing exoplanets. Whereas most of the other instruments on Webb can see from the start of near infrared, or even as short as orange visible light, MIRI can see longer wavelength light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcia J. Rieke</span> American astronomer

Marcia Jean Rieke is an American astronomer. She is a Regents' Professor of Astronomy and associate department head at the University of Arizona. Rieke is the Principal Investigator on the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). She has also served as the deputy-Principal Investigator on the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and as the co-investigator for the multiband imaging photometer on the Spitzer Space Telescope, where she also acted as an outreach coordinator and a member of the Science Working Group. Rieke was also involved with several infrared ground-based observatories, including the MMT Observatory in Arizona. She was vice chair for Program Prioritization of the Astro2010 Decadal Survey Committee, "New Worlds, New Horizons". Marcia Rieke is considered by many to be one of the "founding mothers" of infrared astronomy, along with Judith Pipher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne L. Kinney</span> American scientist

Anne L. Kinney is an American space scientist and educator. Kinney is currently the Deputy Center Director at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Previously, she held positions as the head of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Chief Scientist of the W.M. Keck Observatory, Director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Director of the Origins Program at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Director of the Universe Division at NASA Headquarters. She earned a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a doctorate in astrophysics from New York University, and has published more than 80 papers on extragalactic astronomy. She was an instrument scientist for the Faint Object Spectrograph that flew on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Timothy George Hawarden was a South African astrophysicist known for his pioneering work on passive cooling techniques for space telescopes for which he won NASA's Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gillian Wright Biography Webb Telescope/NASA". James Webb Space Telescope . Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Gillian Wright". Destination Space. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Wright, Gillian Susan (1982). Design study for a large balloon-borne far infrared telescope (Thesis). hdl:10044/1/36136.
  4. ↑ Wright, G. S. (1987). Infrared activity in interacting galaxies (Thesis). hdl:10044/1/46917.
  5. 1 2 "Technology Gillian Wright". Science and Technology Facilities Council . Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Adamson, Andy; Davies, John; Robson, Ian; Robson, E. Ian (26 November 2013). Thirty Years of Astronomical Discovery with UKIRT: The Scientific Achievement of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN   978-94-007-7432-2.
  7. ↑ "People & Contacts". Institute for Astronomy . Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "SUPA Committees". Scottish Universities Physics Alliance. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "The Herschel Space Observatory - Mission Overview". Max Planck Institute for Astronomy . Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "First instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope completed". phys.org . Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launches in French Guiana". The Washington Post.
  12. ↑ "NASA - Meet the Faces Behind the MIRI - Part 1: Wright, Goodson, Glasse and Ressler". NASA . Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N11.
  14. ↑ "Professor Gillian Susan Wright MBE, FRSE". The Royal Society of Edinburgh . 24 March 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
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