From Voyager to Webb: Heidi Hammel and the Ice Giants

The Vatican Observatory Podcast

So, how many people do you know who have had a children’s book written about them? Dr. Heidi Hammel gained international fame in 1994 by leading the Hubble Space Telescope Team that imaged Jupiter during the impacts of Comet Shoemaker Levy 9, but in fact her main research has focused on the “ice giant” planets, Uranus and Neptune. Her ground-based telescope observations were crucial to interpreting the Voyager spacecraft flyby images, and she now helps direct planetary observations with the Webb Space Telescope.

Guests:
Dr. Heidi Hammel - Vice President for Science for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), and an Interdisciplinary Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Br. Guy Consolmagno SJ - Director of Vatican Observatory and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.
Vatican Observatory website: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/
Intro music: Irreducible by ComaStudio