Assembly and Galaxies – astronomers will compare the formation of early galaxies with how galaxies are assembled over billions of years. First Light and Reionization – the infrared capabilities of the JWST will enable it to look back over 13.5 billion years to reveal the first stars and galaxies forming in the early universe. The sunshield provides the equivalent Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of a million and is imperative to the JWST’s functionality, as the telescope needs to remain cold for the infrared capacity to function correctly.Īccording to NASA, the science goals for the JWST can be grouped into four themes: The five-layer sunshield doesn’t disappoint either, measuring in at the size of a tennis court. The JWST L2 positioning also requires less fuel usage, meaning a longer mission lifetime of between five and 10 years.Īs the successor to Hubble, it does come with a few upgrades, it can even take a selfie! The JWST’s primary mirror is 6.5 meters in diameter and 25 square meters in area, that’s three times the size of the mirror used on the Hubble telescope. Unlike Hubble, which orbits Earth at a distance of roughly 550 kilometers (340 miles), the JWST will be held in position by the Sun's orbit. Operating in a halo orbit, the JWST’s L2 positioning enables it to move at a relatively continuous distance from Earth, while keeping out of both the Moon and Earth’s shadows. This super expensive bit of kit is now positioned directly behind Earth, in a gravitationally stable location known as Lagrange 2 or L2. JWST journeyed to its final location 1.5 million kilometers ( 1 million miles) away over just 29 days. Due to the nature of the JWST orbit, repairs would be impossible – they had to make sure it was perfect. There was, however, good reason to postpone. With development beginning in 1996, the initial 2007 launch date was postponed continuously for the next 14 years, leading some to doubt the voyage would ever take place. This immense international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency has been 20 years in the making.
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