NASA releases first images from the James Webb Telescope
The Webb Telescope is larger and is designed to look deeper into space than the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990 and has made more than 1.5 million observations while orbiting the earth. Most of Hubble’s images are non-infrared, so they’re often obscured by dust and gas that Webb can see through.
The Webb telescope will explore four areas of science: the early Universe, galaxies through time, the life cycle of stars and other worlds. Over the next 5½ years or more, the telescope will be able to observe galaxies that formed about 400 million years after the Big Bang — consistent with the idea that the universe began at a single point and expanded from there.
The telescope was named after James Webb, NASA’s second administrator, best known for directing the Apollo missions, which landed the first humans on the moon.
A cold, clear eye to the sky
The James Webb Space Telescope observes in the infrared part of the spectrum, which requires the mirrors, cameras and other instruments to remain at extremely low temperatures – not far above absolute zero. This requires the telescope
a massive sunscreen for protection
Solar radiation.
Science
instrument
module with cameras used in these images
18 segment
primary mirror
control of spacecraft
machinery
Sources: NASA; Scientific Institute for Space Telescopes
WILLIAM NEFF/THE WASHINGTON POST
A cold, clear eye to the sky
The James Webb Space Telescope observes in the infrared part of the spectrum, which requires the mirrors, cameras and other instruments to remain at extremely low temperatures – not far above absolute zero. As a result, the telescope requires massive sun protection to protect it from solar radiation.
Science
instrument
module with cameras used in these images
18 segment
primary mirror
control of spacecraft
machinery
Sources: NASA; Scientific Institute for Space Telescopes
WILLIAM NEFF/THE WASHINGTON POST
A cold, clear eye to the sky
The James Webb Space Telescope observes in the infrared part of the spectrum, which requires the mirrors, cameras and other instruments to remain at extremely low temperatures – not far above absolute zero. As a result, the telescope requires massive sun protection to protect it from solar radiation.
Science
instrument
module with cameras used in these images
18 segment
primary mirror
control of spacecraft
machinery
Sources: NASA; Scientific Institute for Space Telescopes
WILLIAM NEFF/THE WASHINGTON POST
Construction of the Webb Telescope parts began in 2004, and assembly and testing began in 2013 at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The project involved help from other NASA entities, as well as Canadian and European space agencies. Scientists around the world will study the images captured by Webb and may find answers to questions about the universe’s early years.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/kidspost/2022/07/13/james-webb-telescope-first-images/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_lifestyle NASA releases first images from the James Webb Telescope