Did JWST Just Solve the Biggest Crisis in Cosmology? Wendy Freedman

Discrepancies between different measurements of the Hubble constant have caused a major crisis in cosmology.

Our guest today, the incredible Wendy Freedman, is at the forefront of efforts to resolve this tension. Known for her pioneering work on the Hubble Key Project and her important contributions to the measurement of the Hubble constant, Wendy is now using the James Webb Space Telescope to bring clarity to this debate.

With decades of experience and a deep understanding of the complexity of cosmic measurements, there is no one better to shed light on this issue.

So, can the James Webb Space Telescope help solve one of the biggest puzzles in cosmology?

Tune in to this episode of Into the Impossible to find out!—

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Intro
01:14 The role of JWST in solving the Hubble tension
03:57 Comparing different distance indicators
20:41 Standard sirens
34:01 Accurate cosmology vs. precision cosmology
36:31 Vera C. Rubin Observatory and Giant Magellan Telescope
42:46 Wendy’s take on dark energy
45:28 Outro

Additional resources:

➡️ Learn more about Wendy Freedman:

➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms:

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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.

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[leoborganelli]

Best interview so far Dr. Keating. You're asking pointed questions and being more concise and sitting back and letting her talk. Much better interview techniques

[coniferviveur]

Listening to Freedman is an educational pleasure.

[MalachiMarvin]

I'm going to push back on the use of the word "crisis". It's not a crisis, it's an opportunity. We're not talking about dogma, this is science, we're talking about the opportunity to improve our understanding of the universe.

[oliverjamito]

Thank you our beautiful Mother Wendy for attending unto our own! Brian thank you and gratitude and honor for having sincere conversations unto our beautiful Mother Wendy!

[meanderinoranges]

Not an astronomer here. But I know how complicated the distance measurements and errors are, and how much they affect expansion measurements. I always had a hunch that the Hubble tension is almost completely due to this. After watching this interview, I'm now even more convinced. The poor astronomers are stuck in distance measurement purgatory.

[GeorgeBohannon]

That was your best podcast ever! Thanks for that. Wendy Freedman is such a great guest.

[JayCross]

About 25 minutes in, you ask why we don't subscribe. So, this is a 46 minute podcast that competes for my attention with quite a few other really terrific astronomy podcasts. I'll watch you a few times, and if I feel like you answer a greater group of my questions per unit time, I'll subscribe, but so far you don't seem better or worse. Getting Wendy Freedman drew me to this episode.

[Bill..N]

This was an amazingly good interview.. Very eye-opening in parts.. Thanks, Brian..

[dewiz]

Would sending a telescope to orbit Mars or Jupiter not extend the baseline for determining distance by the parallax method?

[dosesandmimoses]

She is def cool- her conversation with Dr. Krauss was great!

[notanemoprog]

More Wendy Freedman on Physics YT please! Very clear & understandable

[mw-thov]

great interview on the JWST data helping to resolve the Hubble constant problem explaining the three classes of stars used in determination of the HC by WF's research group...

[eldraque]

the details really help explain the problems

[nunomaroco]

Hi, incredible talk...lots of hope in New Astronomical Observations...

[ricardoabh]

Very interesting discussion and well explained.

[royboyx]

Did the BB "create" the totality of matter/energy that we see in the universe? If so, what was the phase-state prior to the bang?

[anthonycarbone]

I would think the Hubble Constant itself would be making the whole procedure much more difficult. That means the universe is expanding and even the distance is changing over time. If the Hubble constant is not right than the distance the universe is expanding during any time frame is wrong.

[freehat]

Nice chat, she's fun to listen to.

[bucaboxer]

So to sum up, Hubble tension is not solved. In fact, they digressed and didn't cover it completely.

[picksalot]

Why are there no Posthumous Nobel Recognitions? The misfortune of someone dying before they would have certainly received the Award for a significant discovery seems capricious and lacking in acknowledgement of their important work. Alfred Nobel died at age 63. Perhaps a Posthumous Nobel Recognition could be designated for deserving Nominees 63 years after their deaths. 🤷‍♂