James Webb Space Telescope Archives

June 9, 2022June 9, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

JWST was Recently Hit by a Surprisingly Large Micrometeoroid

Artist impression of the James Webb Space Telescope. Its design and construction were made more complicated and expensive because it had to fit into the nosecone of the rocket that launched it. Assembling telescopes in space could be an improvement. Image Credit: ESA.

Scientists and engineers for the James Webb Space Telescope revealed that since its deployment in space, the telescope has been struck at least five times by micrometeroids, with one recent strike by an object that was larger than what pre-launch models suggested that the telescope would likely encounter.

June 8, 2022June 8, 2022 by Evan Gough

Hubble Finds a Bunch of Galaxies That Webb Should Check out

Galaxies from the last 10 billion years witnessed in the 3D-DASH program, created using 3D-DASH/F160W and ACS-COSMOS/F814W imaging. Image Credit: Lamiya Mowla

The Universe is full of massive galaxies like ours, but astronomers don’t fully understand how they grew and evolved. They know that the first galaxies formed at least as early as 670 million years after the Big Bang. They know that mergers play a role in the growth of galaxies. Astronomers also know that supermassive black holes are involved in the growth of galaxies, but they don’t know precisely how.

A new Hubble survey of galaxies should help astronomers figure some of this out.

June 6, 2022June 6, 2022 by Evan Gough

First Images From JWST are Coming on July 12th

We’re about to reach a milestone that many thought we would never reach. After years of wrangling, cost overruns, threats of cancellation, and lobbying by the science community, the James Webb Space Telescope is only weeks away from its first images.

May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Webb is Almost Ready. There’s One Last Thing To Do

The James Webb Space Telescope is now in the final phase of commissioning as it readies for science observations. Of the more than 1,000 milestones the observatory has needed to reach since launch to become fully operational, the team said today they are down to about two hundred activities to go. But those 200 are all part of the final phase of commissioning the instruments.

“I call it the home stretch,” said Michael McElwain, Webb observatory project scientist in a media briefing on May 9. “There are 17 scientific modes we need to bring online in the next two months, and we need to demonstrate the telescope’s operational capabilities before we are ready to turn the science instruments loose on the Universe.”

May 7, 2022May 6, 2022 by Paul M. Sutter

What Does Micrometeoroid Damage do to Gossamer Structures Like Webb’s Sunshield?

Sunshield test unit on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is unfurled for the first time at Northrup Grumman. Credit: NASA

Tiny little bullets flood the solar system, each micrometeoroid a potential hazard. New research has found that the James Webb Space Telescope’s thin sunshields, and future inflatable spacecraft, may be at risk.

May 2, 2022May 2, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Now, We can Finally Compare Webb to Other Infrared Observatories

The evolution of infrared astronomy, from Spitzer to WISE to JWST. Image credit: Andras Gaspar.

The images released by the James Webb Space Telescope team last week aren’t officially ‘first light’ images from the new telescope, but in a way, it feels like they are. These stunning views provide the initial indications of just how powerful JWST will be, and just how much infrared astronomy is about to improve.

April 28, 2022April 28, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Prepare Yourself: New Engineering Images from JWST Will Blow Your Mind

Engineering images of sharply focused stars in the field of view of each instrument demonstrate that the telescope is fully aligned and in focus. Credit: Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

If the phrase “My god, it’s full of stars” was ever appropriate, it’s today, because of these new images from the James Webb Space Telescope. These are ‘just’ engineering images, mind you, but they are incredible. The number of stars and galaxies visible in each image is just remarkable, not to mention the crisp clarity in the fields of view.

April 27, 2022April 27, 2022 by Shawn DiCenza

Webb Has Almost Reached its Final, Coldest Temperature

Image: James Webb Space Telescope — NASA's James Webb Telescope, shown in this artist's conception, will provide more information about previously detected exoplanets. Beyond 2020, many more next-generation space telescopes are expected to build on what it discovers. Credit: NASA

Launched on December 25, 2021 from ESA’s launch site in Kourou, French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reached its final orbit at the L2 Lagrange point on January 24, 2022. It has since performed several operations to get it ready for its observing mission which should begin in about a month.

As part of getting it ready for its mission, NASA has been cooling off its instruments, such as the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), to operating temperatures. Now that they have reached that point, all that’s left to cool down are the mirrors.

Continue reading “Webb Has Almost Reached its Final, Coldest Temperature”

April 14, 2022April 14, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Brrr. Webb’s MIRI has Reached 6.4 Kelvin, Just a few Degrees Above Absolute Zero

The latest update on the James Webb Space Telescope literally sent a shiver down my spine! The telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has now reached its operating temperature of a chilly 7 kelvins (7 deg above absolute 0, or -266 degrees C,-447 degrees F).

MIRI has now been turned on and is undergoing initial checkouts.

April 8, 2022April 8, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

It’s Been Three Months in Deep Space, and Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument is Still Cooling Down

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to cool down out at its location at Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Since JWST is an infrared telescope, it needs to operate at extremely low temperatures, less than 40 K (-223 degrees Celsius, -369.4 degrees Fahrenheit). But one instrument needs to be even colder.

To operate at peak efficiency, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) must be cooled to a chilly 7 K (-266 C, -447 F). And it will need a little help to reach those frigid temps.