![Roger Wesson](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/5535?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
My main research interest is core-collapse supernovae, and the dust that forms in the remnants left behind after these colossal stellar explosions. I'm investigating how much dust forms, when it forms, and what ultimately happens to it.
I'm also interested in planetary nebulae, which form when relatively low-mass stars exhaust their nuclear fuel. Unusual chemical signatures in some of these objects indicate that they contain some very cold gas of unclear origin. I am trying to determine the nature of this cold gas, which can often significantly affect standard methods of estimating the abundances of chemical elements in these objects.
Publication
2026
- Wesson, R. et al. 2026. WEAVE imaging spectroscopy of NGC 6720: an iron bar in the Ring. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 546 (1) staf2139. (10.1093/mnras/staf2139)
- Wesson, R. et al. 2026. 3D insights into SN 1987A: ALMA observations compared to hydrodynamical explosion simulations. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society stag325. (10.1093/mnras/stag325)
- DerKacy, J. M. et al., 2026. JWST Observations of SN 2023ixf I: Completing the early multi-wavelength picture with plateau-phase spectroscopy. The Astrophysical Journal 997 (2) 179. (10.3847/1538-4357/ae1f87)
- Kushwahaa, T. et al. 2026. Hybrid machine learning classification of AGB stars in Gaia DR3. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
2025
- Bhatt, C. et al., 2025. Detection of CH3+ in the O-rich planetary nebula NGC 6302. The Astrophysical Journal 995 (1) 67. (10.3847/1538-4357/ae1020)
- Medler, K. et al., 2025. JWST observations of SN 2023ixf II: The panchromatic evolution between 250 and 720 days after the explosion. The Astrophysical Journal 993 (2) 191. (10.3847/1538-4357/ae0736)
- Clark, N. et al., 2025. JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720): II. PAH emission. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 540 (2), pp.1984-1997. staf826. (10.1093/mnras/staf826)
- Monteiro, H. et al. 2025. The planetary nebula NGC 3132 revisited: high definition 3D photoionization model. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 539 (2), pp.1756-1774. (10.1093/mnras/staf488)
- Sahai, R. et al., 2025. JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720) III. A dusty disk around its Central Star. The Astrophysical Journal 985 (1) 101. (10.3847/1538-4357/adc91c)
2024
- Matsuura, M. et al. 2024. Deep JWST/NIRCam imaging of Supernova 1987A. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 532 (4), pp.3625-3642. (10.1093/mnras/stae1032)
- Milisavljevic, D. et al., 2024. A JWST survey of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 965 (2) L27. (10.3847/2041-8213/ad324b)
- Bouchet, P. et al., 2024. JWST MIRI Imager Observations of Supernova SN 1987A. The Astrophysical Journal 965 (1) 51. (10.3847/1538-4357/ad2770)
- Crowther, P. A. et al., 2024. Oxygen abundance of γ Vel from [O III] 88 μm Herschel/PACS spectroscopy. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 528 (2), pp.2026–2039. (10.1093/mnras/stae145)
- Wesson, R. et al. 2024. JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720): I. Imaging of the rings, globules, and arcs. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 528 (2), pp.3392-3416. (10.1093/mnras/stad3670)
- Fransson, C. et al., 2024. Emission lines due to ionizing radiation from a compact object in the remnant of Supernova 1987A. Science 383 (6685), pp.898-903. (10.1126/science.adj5796)
2023
- Wesson, R. et al. 2023. Evidence for late-time dust formation in the ejecta of supernova SN 1995N from emission-line asymmetries. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 525 (4), pp.4928–4941. (10.1093/mnras/stad2505)
- Jones, O. C. et al., 2023. Ejecta, rings, and dust in SN 1987A with JWST MIRI/MRS. Astrophysical Journal 958 95. (10.3847/1538-4357/ad0036)
- Larsson, J. et al., 2023. JWST NIRSpec observations of supernova 1987A—from the inner ejecta to the reverse shock. Astrophysical Journal Letters 949 (2) L27. (10.3847/2041-8213/acd555)
2022
- Matsuura, M. et al. 2022. Mid-infrared imaging of supernova 1987a. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 517 (3), pp.4327-4336. (10.1093/mnras/stac3036)
- De Marco, O. et al., 2022. The messy death of a multiple star system and the resulting planetary nebula as observed by JWST. Nature Astronomy 6 , pp.1421-1432. (10.1038/s41550-022-01845-2)
2009
- Matsuura, M. et al. 2009. A "firework" of H2 knots in the planetary nebula NGC 7293 (the helix nebula). The Astrophysical Journal 700 (2), pp.1067–1077. (10.1088/0004-637x/700/2/1067)
Articles
- Wesson, R. et al. 2026. WEAVE imaging spectroscopy of NGC 6720: an iron bar in the Ring. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 546 (1) staf2139. (10.1093/mnras/staf2139)
- Wesson, R. et al. 2026. 3D insights into SN 1987A: ALMA observations compared to hydrodynamical explosion simulations. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society stag325. (10.1093/mnras/stag325)
- DerKacy, J. M. et al., 2026. JWST Observations of SN 2023ixf I: Completing the early multi-wavelength picture with plateau-phase spectroscopy. The Astrophysical Journal 997 (2) 179. (10.3847/1538-4357/ae1f87)
- Kushwahaa, T. et al. 2026. Hybrid machine learning classification of AGB stars in Gaia DR3. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
- Bhatt, C. et al., 2025. Detection of CH3+ in the O-rich planetary nebula NGC 6302. The Astrophysical Journal 995 (1) 67. (10.3847/1538-4357/ae1020)
- Medler, K. et al., 2025. JWST observations of SN 2023ixf II: The panchromatic evolution between 250 and 720 days after the explosion. The Astrophysical Journal 993 (2) 191. (10.3847/1538-4357/ae0736)
- Clark, N. et al., 2025. JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720): II. PAH emission. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 540 (2), pp.1984-1997. staf826. (10.1093/mnras/staf826)
- Monteiro, H. et al. 2025. The planetary nebula NGC 3132 revisited: high definition 3D photoionization model. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 539 (2), pp.1756-1774. (10.1093/mnras/staf488)
- Sahai, R. et al., 2025. JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720) III. A dusty disk around its Central Star. The Astrophysical Journal 985 (1) 101. (10.3847/1538-4357/adc91c)
- Matsuura, M. et al. 2024. Deep JWST/NIRCam imaging of Supernova 1987A. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 532 (4), pp.3625-3642. (10.1093/mnras/stae1032)
- Milisavljevic, D. et al., 2024. A JWST survey of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The Astrophysical Journal Letters 965 (2) L27. (10.3847/2041-8213/ad324b)
- Bouchet, P. et al., 2024. JWST MIRI Imager Observations of Supernova SN 1987A. The Astrophysical Journal 965 (1) 51. (10.3847/1538-4357/ad2770)
- Crowther, P. A. et al., 2024. Oxygen abundance of γ Vel from [O III] 88 μm Herschel/PACS spectroscopy. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 528 (2), pp.2026–2039. (10.1093/mnras/stae145)
- Wesson, R. et al. 2024. JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720): I. Imaging of the rings, globules, and arcs. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 528 (2), pp.3392-3416. (10.1093/mnras/stad3670)
- Fransson, C. et al., 2024. Emission lines due to ionizing radiation from a compact object in the remnant of Supernova 1987A. Science 383 (6685), pp.898-903. (10.1126/science.adj5796)
- Wesson, R. et al. 2023. Evidence for late-time dust formation in the ejecta of supernova SN 1995N from emission-line asymmetries. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 525 (4), pp.4928–4941. (10.1093/mnras/stad2505)
- Jones, O. C. et al., 2023. Ejecta, rings, and dust in SN 1987A with JWST MIRI/MRS. Astrophysical Journal 958 95. (10.3847/1538-4357/ad0036)
- Larsson, J. et al., 2023. JWST NIRSpec observations of supernova 1987A—from the inner ejecta to the reverse shock. Astrophysical Journal Letters 949 (2) L27. (10.3847/2041-8213/acd555)
- Matsuura, M. et al. 2022. Mid-infrared imaging of supernova 1987a. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 517 (3), pp.4327-4336. (10.1093/mnras/stac3036)
- De Marco, O. et al., 2022. The messy death of a multiple star system and the resulting planetary nebula as observed by JWST. Nature Astronomy 6 , pp.1421-1432. (10.1038/s41550-022-01845-2)
- Matsuura, M. et al. 2009. A "firework" of H2 knots in the planetary nebula NGC 7293 (the helix nebula). The Astrophysical Journal 700 (2), pp.1067–1077. (10.1088/0004-637x/700/2/1067)
Biography
I got my PhD from University College London, before briefly pursuing a career outside academia in the civil service. After two years at the Home Office, I returned to astronomy with a postdoc back at UCL, before moving to Chile as a European Southern Observatory fellow with observatory duties at Paranal. I returned to the UK in 2016 with another postdoc position at UCL, before moving to Cardiff in 2022.
Contact Details
[email protected]
Queen's Buildings - North Building, Room N3/25, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
Queen's Buildings - North Building, Room N3/25, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
Research themes
Specialisms
- Stellar astronomy and planetary systems
- Galactic astronomy
- Astronomical sciences
