Linking to my long time interest in distant and voluminous data gathering, starting with the Hubble telescope. Plan to reach out t them regards use of data analysis. Now we are about to start a new, long term approach. I met a few people through this blog over the years with related interests. There are worthwhile connections. Be aware.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM NASA’S JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE LAUNCH
An anxiety-ridden launch that’s been decades in the making
By Loren Grush@lorengrush Dec 23, 2021, 9:00am EST
On Christmas Day, NASA is gifting astronomers one of the greatest presents it can give by launching the most powerful space telescope ever created. Called the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, the space observatory is meant to be the successor to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope already in orbit around Earth. And it promises to completely transform the way we study the cosmos.
Sporting the biggest mirror of any space-bound telescope ever launched, JWST is tasked with collecting infrared light from some of the most distant stars and galaxies in the Universe. With this capability, the telescope will be able to peer far back in time, imaging some of the earliest objects to have formed just after the Big Bang. On top of that, it will unravel the mysteries of supermassive black holes, distant alien worlds, stellar explosions, dark matter, and more.
IT WILL UNRAVEL THE MYSTERIES OF SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES, DISTANT ALIEN WORLDS, STELLAR EXPLOSIONS, DARK MATTER, AND MORE
NASA has worked for nearly three decades to craft this telescope and get it to the launchpad. Now, the telescope is finally set to launch on top of a European Ariane 5 rocket out of Europe’s primary launch site in Kourou, French Guiana in South America, on Saturday, December 25th. But once the telescope is in space, there’s still a long way to go. Because JWST is so massive, it must fly to space folded up. Once in space, it will undergo a complex unfurling process that will take up to two weeks to complete. And this reverse origami must go exactly right for the telescope to function properly.
All the while, JWST will be traveling to an extra cold spot located 1 million miles from Earth, where the spacecraft will live out its life, collecting as much infrared light as it can. It’s an extremely complicated launch and mission, with many opportunities for things to go wrong along the way. But if everything goes right, the world’s astronomers will have an unbelievably powerful tool at their disposal for the next five to 10 years. ... .'
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