![]() ![]() In addition to expanding exoplanet research, JWST will allow astronomers to observe some of the earliest stars and galaxies, which scientists think formed just a hundred million years or so after the Big Bang. JWST will extend out exoplanet observation capabilities, allowing scientists not only to peer at larger Jupiter-sized planets, but also investigate climate and habitability on smaller, Earth-like rocky worlds orbiting small, cool, and often active red dwarf stars. Because of their size, these larger exoplanets are more easily spotted (but researchers have reason to suspect that they aren’t the most common exoplanets in the universe). Until now, scientists have been using other telescopes, including Hubble’s infrared instruments, to observe enormous, Jupiter-sized exoplanets. The telescope is tasked with a wide range of goals, from finding the first galaxies and luminous objects formed after the Big Bang to observing the evolution of stars and galaxies to searching for new hopefully habitable planetary systems.ĭesigned before scientists knew much about exoplanets, JWST luckily has the right instruments to determine the atmospheric composition of Earth-like exoplanets. But Hubble was only predicted to have a lifetime of 15 years and has so far thrived for twice that long. JWST will carry out a broad range of scientific investigations over the course of its life, which is currently expected to last at least five years by conservative estimates. This powerful new tool promises an even deeper window to the cosmos than Hubble - revealing the universe as it existed more than 13 billion years ago. And yesterday, the telescope finally reached its new home in space at the L2 Lagrange point, nearly 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth. JWST took off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Their patience was finally rewarded, however, on the morning of Dec. ![]() But delay after delay pushed the telescope’s inauguration back again and again - much to the disappointment of professional and amateur astronomers alike. First discussed before Hubble had even launched, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was originally envisioned to launch in 2007. Yet when it came time for a new flagship telescope, that mistake weighed heavily on scientists’ minds. Today, Hubble’s fuzzy vision is just a blip on an otherwise awe inspiring 30-year history observing the universe. In 1993, astronauts mounted a repair mission, installing new optics and a new instrument onto the telescope. But NASA was determined to fix their flagship instrument. As it turned out, the telescope’s primary mirror was just a fraction too flat, by less than the width of a human hair. Unfortunately, the first pictures Hubble returned to Earth were disappointing - instead of pointlike, stars were surrounded by large fuzzy halos. When the historic Hubble Space Telescope launched in April 1990, the world waited with bated breath as Hubble soared to the heavens, promising to give the world a window to the cosmos like never before. ![]()
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