Title: Solar System Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope

Abstract:
The James Webb Space Telescope’s unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution will 
make it NASA’s premier space-based facility for infrared astronomy. This 6.5-meter 
telescope, which is optimized for observations in the near and mid infrared, will be equipped with 
four state-of-the-art instruments which include imaging, spectroscopy, and coronagraphy. These 
instruments, along with the telescope’s moving target capabilities, will enable the infrared 
study of solar system objects with unprecedented detail. A new white paper (Norwood et al., 
2014) provides a general overview of JWST observatory and instrument capabilities for Solar 
System science, as well as updates and expands upon an earlier study by Lunine et al. (2010). 
A number of hypothetical solar system observations are discussed as a means of 
demonstrating potential planetary science observing scenarios; the list of applications is far 
from comprehensive. We will present a few case studies of compelling new science JWST will 
be able to conduct.

Lunine, J., Hammel, H., Schaller, E., Sonneborn, G., Orton, G., Rieke, G., and Rieke, M. 2010, 
JWST Planetary Observations within the Solar System, http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/doc-
archive/white-papers.
Norwood, J., Hammel, H., Milam, S.,Stansberry, J., Lunine, J.,  Chanover, N., Hines, D., 
Sonneborn, G., Tiscareno, M., Brown, M. and Ferruit, P., 2014, ArXiv e-prints, 1403.6845.

Co-authors:
S. Milam, J. Norwood, H. Hammel, J. Stansberry, J. Lunine, N. Chanover, D. Hines, G. 
Sonneborn, M. Tiscareno, M. Brown, and P. Ferruit