On your extraordinary journey on Saturday, December 25 at At 1:20 p.m. the James Webb Space Telescope set off. The device, created jointly by the American, European and Canadian space agencies, was launched into space by an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. It took about 30 minutes to break free from the rocket and set a course towards an orbit about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
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The James Webb Space Telescope, a revolutionary instrument by the US space agency NASA, which will peek into the cosmic abyss, begins its mission. At 1.20 p.m. Polish time, the telescope was launched. It is the beginning of a new era in space research.
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This machine – according to NASA – is to help “reveal the secrets of the universe”. The start of the mission was moved several times.
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionPAP / EPA / JM GUILLON / ESA
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionPAP / EPA / JM GUILLON / ESA
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The start of the James Webb Space Telescope missionNASA
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionNASA
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26 minutes of flight
The equipment, weighing more than 6.3 tons, was released from the rocket after about 30 minutes of flight.
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionNASA
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionNASA
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionNASA
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The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope missionNASA
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During the 29-day flight, it will unfold its components, including the heat shield against the sun, scientific instruments and the mirror itself.
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The telescope then travels to an orbit approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, almost four times farther than the Moon.
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Despite huge financial outlays and efforts, the success of the mission is not guaranteed. According to NASA, the deployment of the telescope is one of the most technically complex missions in history. This is, among other things, a consequence of the fact that the telescope – in order to fit into the rocket – had to be folded like origami.
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The entire journey to L2 – one of the places where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth equilibrate – will take 29 days.
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If all goes to plan, the telescope’s special orbital path will keep it in constant line with the Earth, allowing the planet and the telescope to orbit the Sun in tandem.
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By comparison, Webb’s 30-year-old predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, orbits the Earth at a distance of nearly 550 kilometers.
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The new telescope, named after the man who oversaw NASA for much of the 1960s, is about 100 times more sensitive than the Hubble telescope. Scientists expect it to change the understanding of the patterns that govern the universe and our place.
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Preparations for the start of the missionPAP/EPA/NASA/Bill Ingalls HANDOUT
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The mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Gas, dust and black holes
The James Webb Space Telescope will mainly observe the infrared space. Thanks to this, he will be able to observe the clouds of gas and dust from which stars are born. In addition, scientists will have the chance to more closely study supermassive black holes that lie at the centers of distant galaxies.
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Webb’s instruments are also ideally placed to search for evidence of a potentially life-sustaining atmosphere around newly documented exoplanets – celestial bodies orbiting outside the solar system around other distant stars. Thanks to them, we will also take a closer look at interesting objects located a bit closer, such as Mars or the ice moon of Saturn – Titan.
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>>> Read more: American astrophysicists on the James Webb Space Telescope
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International cooperation
The telescope is the result of international cooperation conducted by NASA in cooperation with the European and Canadian space agencies.
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Astronomical operation of the telescope, managed by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, is scheduled to begin in summer 2022. Earlier, because for six months, the telescope will be set up and calibrated on the target site.
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This is when NASA expects to release the first batch of images captured by Webb. For now, scientists do not want to reveal where they intend to point the telescope in the first place. According to the plans, the instrument is to operate for up to 10 years.
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photo-source">Main photo source: NASA
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