The new era of celestial observation
The new era of celestial observation
Rongying Lin 2/28/2022
The “great observatories” series launched by NASA has captured numerous images of splendid celestial objects since the 1990s. In 2021, the new era of the space telescope series began with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The mission for JWST is to receive infrared light by orbiting around the gravitational balance zone between the Sun and the Earth where it’s called L2. JWST captures the infrared light by the special structure and material of the mirror. The mirror is made of gold and beryllium and consists of 18 hexagonal segments which add up the diameter to 6.5 meters. As we know, the larger the diameter, the better the resolution of the image. Therefore, JWST can “see” through dust and detect objects like planets. To achieve this, JWST is built with a near-infrared camera; a near-infrared Spectrograph that is aimed to disperse the light and map the spectrum; a mid-infrared instrument that contains both camera and a spectrograph, and a fine guidance sensor that helps JWST to calibrate the target object. The universe is constantly expanding, therefore, the wavelength got stretched and became infrared from far away in the universe. Thus, we will be able to detect the history of the universe and how it will evolve by using JWST. This revolutionary mission was launched in Kourou, French Guiana on December 21th 2021. For now, there are programs like the cycle 1st General observer and Director’s discretionary Early Release Science program being introduced to the scientific community where people can see the researches from the formation of the galaxies to the evolution of the cosmic down.
This is how the JWST flying toward the L2 orbital looks like. The 18 hexagonal segments spread out and are ready to collect information about the universe.
https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/nirspec.html
https://astrobites.org/2021/12/20/getting-ready-for-launch-the-history-design-science-of-jwst/
https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-programs
Why did they put the JWST in the L2 orbit rather than 1, 3, 4, or 5? What makes L2 so ideal?
ReplyDeleteHow exactly will the JWST work to be able to see the universe evolving past what we already know and are speculating how it will end? Will it be the same way that the telescope will be able to "see back in time?"
ReplyDeleteI think the most interesting part of this mission will be determining the different chemical compositions of the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets. Just a few weeks ago, another planet was discovered around Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun, bringing the total number of planets believed to be in the system up to 3. The most exciting part is that one of the planets, Proxima Centauri b, is believed to be in the habitable zone, where liquid water might exist on its surface, and possibly life. I can’t wait to see what discoveries this awesome feat of engineering will be able to show humanity.
ReplyDeleteWhy were gold and beryllium chosen as the best materials to build the mirrors out of? I'm sure that a lot of research was done to determine what composition of elements would be most effective.
ReplyDeleteWhy was it given the hexagonal, honeycomb shape unlike other telescopes like Hubble?
ReplyDeleteI think it's intriguing to notice the advancement of technology in astronomy. I wonder what telescopes will look like after the JWST, and I also wonder what the next telescope would achieve more than the JWST.
ReplyDelete