The James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch on December 18, 2021. It was designed as a replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope. Although this new telescope is eleven years late and cost ten times as much as projected, it will be well worth it for astronomers and other scientists. The images we've seen from Hubble are simply amazing, and grew our knowledge of the cosmos exponentially. Yet astronomers have significantly greater hopes for Webb. Here's why:
Hubble's reflecting mirror is 7.8 feet across. The Webb mirror is 21.3 feet across, which will give it six times the area, and the corresponding ability to collect light.
Hubble collects light in the visible spectrum, plus has a limited ability to collect infrared light. Webb is primarily an infrared collector, which will allow it to see across vast galaxies, and collect light going further back in time -billions of years. Infrared light will also enable Webb to see exoplanets with the interference of the stars they are orbiting.
While Hubble orbits earth at a distance of 340 miles, Webb will be deployed at a million miles away.
An article at Vox expands on the advantages of the James Webb Space Telescope, and gives us a glimpse at some of the things scientists expect to see in the coming years. -via Kottke
(Image credit: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope)
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