NASA’s ambitious $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope launched from the European Space Agency’s Arianespace ELA-3 launch complex and began its journey to outer space in late December 2021. After traveling over 1 million miles since its initial launch, the James Webb Space Telescope reached L2, the second sun-Earth Lagrange point, on Jan. 24.
Lagrange points, in solar system exploration, are defined as “positions in space where objects sent there tend to stay put.” With its arrival to L2, the telescope will remain in place due to gravitational stability and close proximity to both Earth and the sun. In this setting, it will also be able to orbit the sun, from a million miles away, at the same pace of Earth’s own orbit.
As a project initiated by NASA, the telescope has since become a hallmark international collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA). NASA is responsible for the Webb mission, taking note of photos, statistics and other areas of progress of the telescope on a daily basis. The ESA has provided the near infrared spectrograph, mid-infrared instrument optics assembly and Ariane launch vehicle for the project while the CSA has provided equipment, such as the fine guidance sensor/near infrared imager and slitless spectrograph.
With the legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope’s mission hopes to build upon the findings of Hubble with revolutionized imaging capabilities. However, the biggest difference between the two powerful machines lies in the type of light they can absorb.
Since the James Webb Space Telescope will be farther away from Earth than Hubble, the light the Webb telescope will come into contact with is more red shifted and is classified as infrared light. With four instruments to absorb such light, the telescope will be able to capture clear images of galaxies that encompass hidden stars and planets that emit infrared light. Through its folding telescope design, the tennis-court size sunshield will provide necessary protection from heat and light from the sun on one side while the 21.3 feet segmented mirror captures infrared light on the other side.
With its longer wavelength coverage and improved sensitivity capacity, the purpose of the telescope’s mission can be described and divided into four categories: first light and reionization, an observation on the assembly of galaxies, the birth of stars and protoplanetary systems, and the origins of life.
Oftentimes, telescopes are described as time machines because they can observe events from the past. Based on the distance of the object or system that is being studied, a telescope can display how those systems became what they are today. Since the farthest stars and galaxies have high redshifts that are only able to be seen through the near and mid-infrared light component of the electromagnetic spectrum, the James Webb Space Telescope will aid astronomers in understanding how the first stars and galaxies were formed over a billion years ago.
As our solar system continues to develop, the telescope will also provide more information on other planetary systems within the universe that are being born today. With the progression of space and life exploration on planets like Mars, the telescope will aim to continue researching the possible building blocks of life in other parts of our universe as well.
At UCI, professors like Dr. Asantha Cooray, who teaches physics and astronomy for the School of Physical Sciences, are fueling the field of infrared astronomy with more knowledge and research findings on the subject altogether.
Similar to the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s upcoming Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission aims to “collect data on more than 300 million galaxies along with more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe.” Expected to launch in April of 2025, Corray will serve as a co-lead on the projected two-year long mission.
In comparison, the James Webb Space Telescope is estimated to last a minimum of five years in space. Due to its successful launch in which the Ariane five rocket saved onboard fuel, NASA believes it has the ability to remain in orbit for more than 10 years. Its first images are expected to be generated by the summer of 2022.
To read more about the science tools encompassing the telescope, how it works in space and receive updates through its mission timeline, visit the James Webb Space Telescope website.
Korintia Espinoza is a STEM staff writer for the winter 2022 quarter. She can be reached at korintie@uci.edu.
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2022-02-23 06:33:18Z
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