The James Webb Space Telescope Page
November 5, 2023
Owen Borville
The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful space telescope ever built. The telescope will be able to capture images of some of the first galaxies ever formed and has been since the telescope was launched in late December 2021.
The Webb telescope will also be able to observe objects in our solar system from Mars outward, look inside dust clouds to see where new stars and planets are forming and examine the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars.
The Webb telescope is very large (like a 3-story building) and it is so large that it needs to fold to fit inside the rocket to launch. The telescope will unfold, sunshield first, once in space.
The James Webb Telescope can see through dust clouds by using infrared cameras that can see through dust and smoke.
The telescope sees the universe in light that is invisible to human eyes. This light is called infrared radiation, and we can feel this radiation as heat.
Firefighters use infrared cameras to see and rescue people through the smoke in a fire.
The James Webb Space Telescope uses its infrared cameras to see through dust in our universe.
Stars and planets form inside those dust clouds, so the ability to see inside could lead to new discoveries.
The telescope will also be able to see objects (like the first galaxies) that are so far away that the expansion of the universe has made their light shift from visible to infrared!
The Webb telescope includes a sunshield device to help block heat and light from the Sun. This sunshield will unfold when the Webb telescope reaches its home in orbit.
The Webb telescope’s cameras are sensitive to heat from the Sun and the Webb has a sunshield to protect its instruments and mirrors.
The telescope’s sunshield is about the size of a tennis court. The temperature difference between the sun-facing and shaded sides of the telescope is more than 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Web telescope uses giant, gold-coated mirrors to see the universe. These giant golden mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope are made up of smaller golden hexagons.
Space telescopes work by using mirrors to collect and focus light from distant stars.
The bigger the mirror, the more details the telescope can see. While it is very difficult to launch a large, heavy mirror into space, engineers gave the Webb telescope 18 smaller mirrors that fit together like a puzzle.
The mirrors fold up inside the rocket, then unfold to form one large mirror in orbit.
A thin layer of gold helps the mirrors on the telescope reflect infrared light.
Exo-planet Discoveries by Webb
Scientists have discovered thousands of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, which are called exoplanets.
The James Webb Space Telescope will help to study the atmospheres of these exoplanets, and many other features of these planetary bodies that will allow comparison to planets in our solar system, including earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021.
Source: NASA
Discoveries from the James Webb Telescope:
The nearest star forming region to earth, or stellar nursery, with images of young stars. (Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex)
Smoke moleucles in a distant galaxy.
Image of a star just before a supernova.
Mature galaxies discovered very far away.
Pandora's Cluster=three galaxy clusters merging together into a megacluster.
Many young star nurseries seen.
More in-depth images of Mars, enabling further research on this planet's atmosphere.
Massive Black holes
New galaxies discovered, and new chemicals discovered in these galaxies.
Weather patterns on exoplanets seen in greater detail.
Newer images of the Pillars of Creation nebulae in greater detail.
Cosmic Cliffs dust clouds in the Carina Nebula images.
Stephan's Quintet= a tightly clustered group of five galaxies interacting with each other gravitationally.
Wolf Rayet Star and images of concentric rings of stellar wind blasts discovered.
Repeat of the 1995 Hubble Deep Field region imaged by Webb showcasing thousands of galaxies and objects
Close up images of Jupiter, including new features, auroras, hazes, weather patterns, including discovery of a high speed jet stream 3,000 miles wide and moving over 300 miles per hour.
Jupiter-sized planets in space unusually ejected from stars in pairs.
Hubble Space Telescope Launched in 1990
Thanks to Hubble's observations, astronomers have traced the formation of galaxies, discovered that most galaxies contain supermassive black holes, and mapped the presence of the mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the universe's mass and structure. Dark energy was discovered to propel the expansion of the universe.
Top Discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope:
Dark Matter
Dark Energy
The Deep Field Shot
Black Holes
First exo-planet imaged
The immense number of planets in space
Image of comet hitting Jupiter
Details of Milky Way and nearby galaxies
Accurate Measurement of Hubble Constant
Source of long gamma ray bursts from star collapses
November 5, 2023
Owen Borville
The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful space telescope ever built. The telescope will be able to capture images of some of the first galaxies ever formed and has been since the telescope was launched in late December 2021.
The Webb telescope will also be able to observe objects in our solar system from Mars outward, look inside dust clouds to see where new stars and planets are forming and examine the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars.
The Webb telescope is very large (like a 3-story building) and it is so large that it needs to fold to fit inside the rocket to launch. The telescope will unfold, sunshield first, once in space.
The James Webb Telescope can see through dust clouds by using infrared cameras that can see through dust and smoke.
The telescope sees the universe in light that is invisible to human eyes. This light is called infrared radiation, and we can feel this radiation as heat.
Firefighters use infrared cameras to see and rescue people through the smoke in a fire.
The James Webb Space Telescope uses its infrared cameras to see through dust in our universe.
Stars and planets form inside those dust clouds, so the ability to see inside could lead to new discoveries.
The telescope will also be able to see objects (like the first galaxies) that are so far away that the expansion of the universe has made their light shift from visible to infrared!
The Webb telescope includes a sunshield device to help block heat and light from the Sun. This sunshield will unfold when the Webb telescope reaches its home in orbit.
The Webb telescope’s cameras are sensitive to heat from the Sun and the Webb has a sunshield to protect its instruments and mirrors.
The telescope’s sunshield is about the size of a tennis court. The temperature difference between the sun-facing and shaded sides of the telescope is more than 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Web telescope uses giant, gold-coated mirrors to see the universe. These giant golden mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope are made up of smaller golden hexagons.
Space telescopes work by using mirrors to collect and focus light from distant stars.
The bigger the mirror, the more details the telescope can see. While it is very difficult to launch a large, heavy mirror into space, engineers gave the Webb telescope 18 smaller mirrors that fit together like a puzzle.
The mirrors fold up inside the rocket, then unfold to form one large mirror in orbit.
A thin layer of gold helps the mirrors on the telescope reflect infrared light.
Exo-planet Discoveries by Webb
Scientists have discovered thousands of planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, which are called exoplanets.
The James Webb Space Telescope will help to study the atmospheres of these exoplanets, and many other features of these planetary bodies that will allow comparison to planets in our solar system, including earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021.
Source: NASA
Discoveries from the James Webb Telescope:
The nearest star forming region to earth, or stellar nursery, with images of young stars. (Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex)
Smoke moleucles in a distant galaxy.
Image of a star just before a supernova.
Mature galaxies discovered very far away.
Pandora's Cluster=three galaxy clusters merging together into a megacluster.
Many young star nurseries seen.
More in-depth images of Mars, enabling further research on this planet's atmosphere.
Massive Black holes
New galaxies discovered, and new chemicals discovered in these galaxies.
Weather patterns on exoplanets seen in greater detail.
Newer images of the Pillars of Creation nebulae in greater detail.
Cosmic Cliffs dust clouds in the Carina Nebula images.
Stephan's Quintet= a tightly clustered group of five galaxies interacting with each other gravitationally.
Wolf Rayet Star and images of concentric rings of stellar wind blasts discovered.
Repeat of the 1995 Hubble Deep Field region imaged by Webb showcasing thousands of galaxies and objects
Close up images of Jupiter, including new features, auroras, hazes, weather patterns, including discovery of a high speed jet stream 3,000 miles wide and moving over 300 miles per hour.
Jupiter-sized planets in space unusually ejected from stars in pairs.
Hubble Space Telescope Launched in 1990
Thanks to Hubble's observations, astronomers have traced the formation of galaxies, discovered that most galaxies contain supermassive black holes, and mapped the presence of the mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the universe's mass and structure. Dark energy was discovered to propel the expansion of the universe.
Top Discoveries from the Hubble Space Telescope:
Dark Matter
Dark Energy
The Deep Field Shot
Black Holes
First exo-planet imaged
The immense number of planets in space
Image of comet hitting Jupiter
Details of Milky Way and nearby galaxies
Accurate Measurement of Hubble Constant
Source of long gamma ray bursts from star collapses