NASA launches its most expensive and powerful James Webb telescope
Americas, News, US December 26, 2021 1 Comment on NASA launches its most expensive and powerful James Webb telescopeNASA launched its James Webb, so far the most expensive space robot and powerful, telescope on December 25, to study the earliest stars.
The telescope was launched into space with the help of the European Space Agency’s Ariane 5 Space Launch Vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana. The launching process was streamed live on NASA’s official social media outlets and website where thousands of viewers from around the world nervously watched the $10 billion project reaching outer space.
James Webb has been named after the former NASA administrator who led NASA during the 1960s and played a key role in materializing the project for the moon landing.
The engineers and scientists describe James Webb as the “Time Machine” because it will allow the astronomers to explore the origins of the universe and study the Big Bang in a better way. The telescope would also allow the scientists to explore further into space and look clearer into our own galaxy to find the signs for life-supporting planets.
European Space Agency’s Director General Josef Aschbacher stated, “We have delivered a Christmas gift to humanity,” he further added that, “With this telescope, we are enabling new science. This was a nerve-racking moment, but successful in the end.” NASA’s Administrator Bill Nelson added, “James Webb going to give us a better understanding of our universe and our place in it. We shall be able to explore who we are and what we are, a search that is eternal.”
27 minutes after the initial launch, Ariane 5 entered outer space carrying the telescope, and the solo journey for James Webb commenced from there. It is going to take the telescope approximately 6 months to reach its position in space and set itself up for exploration.
Designed as a replacement for the Hubble Telescope, James Webb far exceeds the abilities and capabilities of its 1990-built predecessor. James Webb is bigger in size and far well equipped with complex instruments compared to Hubble. The visible spectrum of James Webb includes not only electromagnetic radiation but also infrared radiations allowing the telescope to capture much more and much precise information in further space, which is a major up-gradation from its predecessor. It is also equipped with a high-end radiation shield and cooling equipment that would ensure the equipment’s safety from solar radiation.
For years, we’ve been answering the question: When will #NASAWebb launch? This morning, we answered that for the last time! Next up: Where is Webb? We’ve got an answer for that, too!
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) December 25, 2021
See where Webb is on its million mile journey to #UnfoldTheUniverse: https://t.co/EZC60K56YN pic.twitter.com/edQ2XxNqyn
The telescope can also keep its scientific instruments extremely cold, which is essential for it to perform its mission properly, as any thermal emission from the onboard equipment would interfere with the faint infrared signals that the telescope is designed to detect. The operating temperature for the observatory is around minus 220 degrees Celsius, which the spacecraft will achieve via a two-pronged strategy.
James Webb can see deeply throughout that space and pick up light and radiation signals which are 10 billion times fainter than the dimmest star a person can see with a naked eye in a clear night sky. That is 100 times fainter than anything that Hubble can pick up. A NASA official at the launch site described Webb’s vision to be so sharp that it can see details off of a penny from 40 km away.
James Webb’s core goals include searching for the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, shining a light on galactic evolution and planet formation, and helping to characterize nearby exoplanet systems, especially those that may be capable of supporting life as we know it.
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[…] $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in 2021, is the successor to the famous Hubble Space Telescope. JWST is the […]