The James Webb Telescope’s Long Journey

Everything is huge in this project: the telescope will be in an orbit of 1.5 million km from Earth (at the Lagrangian point L2, where the gravity of the Earth and the Sun make the telescope maintain a fixed position with respect to these two celestial bodies) has an astronomical mirror the width of a tennis court and scientific instruments capable of exploring the ends of the universe.

Hubble’s successor is the result of more than 20 years of technological advancement and a partnership between the Canadian Space Agency, NASA and the European Space Agency.

Canadian researchers have developed a scientific instrument aimed at studying distant planets and galaxies: NIRISS or near infrared imaging spectrophotometer.

Isabelle Bourgogne talks about the space telescope and upcoming flight:

Where will our guests be before Christmas, when the telescope is launched from Kourou base in French Guiana? Is it true that it cannot be repaired from a distance of one and a half million kilometers? What would he be able to see that previous space telescopes couldn’t?

One of Hubble’s missions was to see the ends of the universe. The difference with James Webb is that the latter can see in the infrared, which allows him to go back in time, to the early ages of the universe, at the time of the formation of the first galaxies. And the other aspect, which we did not think was possible 20 years ago, is exoplanets: James Webb is able to detect the atmospheres of some “young” planets and assess their chemical composition.

what’s the request TRAPPIST-1 A red dwarf made up of at least seven planets – and what could be the contribution of the new telescope to this view not far from us – 40 light-years away – is attracting the attention of many astronomers.

And is it true that we must be patient, because the first observations will not take place until six months after launch, which is the time to calibrate all the devices?

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Photo: The telescope’s giant mirror, designed to bend like origami, to fit an Ariane rocket. / July 10, 2019 / Chris Jean / NASA