The James Webb Space Telescope, as NASA knows it, is the first observatory for the next decade that will reveal to us the mysteries of the universe.
On December 25, 2021, the European Spaceport, located in French Guiana, was due to launch the largest telescope among all that the port had seen, the James Webb Space Telescope.
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The telescope, slated to serve thousands of astronomers around the world, will study every stage in the history of our universe, from the first luminous flares after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own solar system, as a goal I set. The agencies involved in the manufacture of the telescope
What is the James Webb Telescope?
The Giant Infrared Telescope with a base mirror of approximately 6.5 meters is the product of an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, with lead industrial partner Northrop Grumman, and the Space Telescope Science Institute has powered Webb since its launch.
The telescope, which began construction in 2004 and launched in 2021, has an orbit of more than one and a half million kilometers from Earth, and aims primarily to help humans understand the universe and build a clearer perception of it.
James Webb’s mission
The main objectives of the telescope are to study the formation of galaxies, stars and planets in the universe, by observing the first stars and galaxies that were formed in the beginnings of the universe 13.5 billion years ago, which will contribute to a more accurate understanding of the origin of the universe and how stars and planets are formed, especially our solar system and planet Earth.
Another task carried out by the telescope is to survey space in search of any form of life in distant planets that lie outside our solar system, and to know their geological components.
Astronomers expect to draw conclusions from the data and images sent back by the telescope about the formation of the first stars and galaxies.
The benefit of the images taken by the telescope
Until now, much more is hidden from the vast universe than we know, from its inception and the formation of its elements, to the explosion of stars and the formation of black holes.
Here comes the role of the telescope, which can take accurate pictures of the farthest regions of the universe, which contain galaxies that date back to 13.5 billion years, that is, the stars that formed after the Big Bang in a small period according to the age of the universe.
Also, the high resolution of the telescope enables it to observe planets and stars surrounded by dust clouds, which may contain elements that make these planets habitable. The telescope searches for any nearby life form or any habitable planet, which the lenses of other telescopes cannot capture.
Webb will also tell us more about the atmospheres of exoplanets, and perhaps find the building blocks for life elsewhere in the universe, as well as in other planetary systems.
It will also study the objects within our solar system, which will benefit us humans in obtaining more and more accurate knowledge about the universe in which we live.
