Webb's Universe: The Space Telescope Images That Reveal Our Cosmic History

The first stunningly clear images of the very depths of the universe using Webb’s groundbreaking infrared technology were released in July 2022, forever changing the way we see and understand the origins of our existence. From the never-before-seen bright stars surrounding the cosmic cliffs of the Carina Nebula and the intricate details of dying stars to the first detection of a crucial carbon molecule which forms the foundations of life as we know it, Webb continues to amaze and inform us in equal measure.

Bringing her passion as well as her expert knowledge of space and Webb in particular, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock demystifies these stunning pictures and breaks down the essential science behind each image, explaining what we’re seeing and learning from the world’s most powerful space telescope.

Dame Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, PhD, is a space scientist whose passion is presenting science to a general audience and demonstrating that you ‘don’t need a brain the size of a small planet’ to understand, participate in, and enjoy science. She studied at Imperial College, where she obtained her degree in physics and her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. She has spent her career making novel, bespoke instrumentation in both the industrial and academic environments, including working on the James Webb Space Telescope and various satellites monitoring climate change.

To further share her passion for science, in 2004, Maggie founded “Science Innovation Ltd." Through this company, she conducts public engagement activities, sharing her love of space and encouraging under-represented communities to take up STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. To date, Maggie has directly spoken to well over 600,000 people around the world. As well as public speaking, she is a Bafta-nominated TV presenter, co-hosting the world’s longest-running science television programme, “The Sky at Night." She is also an author, with her recent children’s book “Am I Made of Stardust” winning a Royal Society book prize. Maggie also won the Institute of Physics gold medal for exceptional services to science education and physics communication; she was the President of the British Science Association and is the current Chancellor of the University of Leicester. She was made a Dame in the 2023 New Year’s Honours list.