Did you receive what you wanted for Christmas this year? A few years ago, I really wanted a Newtonian telescope. I was so happy to wake up on Christmas morning to see my new telescope that would allow me to see beyond the sky, into Space and see the Moon in amazing detail.
Guess what? This year for Christmas, everyone received a new telescope with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana on Christmas morning. The James Webb telescope will replace the Hubble telescope that was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery in 1990. Unlike the Hubble that orbited Earth, the JWST will orbit the Sun, 1.5 million miles away from Earth at the second Lagrange point (L2).
Joseph-Louis Lagrange, a 18th Century mathematician, calculated the points in which three bodies (Sun, Earth and satellite) could orbit each other and at the same time stay in the same relative position. Isn't that interesting?
The James Webb telescope will take about six months before it is fully deployed and operational, but you can check updates on "Where is Webb" at this link. This will be a game-changer for astrophysicists and cannot wait to hear Neil deGrasse Tyson unfold the universe using data from the James Webb telescope. Happy Boxing Day!
Updated July 11, 2022
Today is the day that we have all been waiting for. I know some of you are saying, "Yes!, It's finally Slurpee Day (7/11)!" Actually, today is the day that we receive the first color images from the JWST, and we finally open the gift that was launched on Christmas day. I guess that this is what is meant by Christmas in July.
The image above is known as Webb’s First Deep Field, with a focus on the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. This is the deepest image of space ever, as there is more defined detail in galaxies beyond SMACS 0723. The JWST will continue to search the Universe for potential habitable planets and take images of stars from 13.5 billion years ago. According to the European Space Agency, "JWST's primary aim is to shed light on our cosmic origins: it will observe the Universe's first galaxies, reveal the birth of stars and planets, and look for exoplanets with the potential for life." More images will be released on July 12 at 10:30 AM EDT. Universe - say cheese!
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