This Saturday, Christmas Day, it was finally James Webb Space Telescope launched into space, in a live and long-awaited mission, for marking the beginning of a new era in Space observation capacity, but which still needs a few months to become fully operational.
The rocket Ariane 5 “gave a lift” to the telescope that will render Hubble and help scientists discover answers to some of the biggest secrets of the universe, in a day that will also involved portuguese work. NASA images show the final moments of preparation of the vehicle and its payload, as well as launch.
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From NASA’s broadcast of more than two hours last Saturday, the key moments of the mission are still worth seeing. The height at which the telescope is launched into space and the separation, already in orbit, from the observatory.
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The James Webb is the largest infrared space telescope ever built, with a 6.5 meter main mirror. It will study the different phases of the universe’s history, looking for answers to the origin of life, or about the formation of the first galaxies.
In total, there will be four working areas for the equipment that when it was conceived had a launch date scheduled for 2007. Now that it has finally arrived in space, it will help scientists to learn more about: the light of the first stars; the formation of galaxies at the beginning of the universe; the birth of stars and protoplanetary systems and planets; the origins of life.
In the two infographics that you can see below, prepared by the European Space Agency, there are more details about the telescope’s work objectives and the timetable in the field, since for the James Webb to work at 100% there are still some steps to be taken.
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In this video, also from ESA, it is possible to see all the steps of the space voyage that James Webb started on December 25th, until it will be fully operational to start finding answers to the scientists’ questions, in about six hours. months.
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