A NASA announced that it has completed the alignment of the mirrors that make up the James Webb Space Telescope, indicating that everything is on track for the equipment to begin its observations of deep space.
To mark the occasion, NASA shared a ‘selfie’ of part of the telescope, which shows the 18 mirrors that will help to capture light and, therefore, detect the existence of stars and planets in the confines of the most diverse galaxies.
“Over 20 years ago, the Webb team began building the most powerful telescope anyone has ever put into space and created a bold optical design to meet scientific goals.”can be read in release from one of NASA’s administrators, Thomas Zurbuchen. “Today we can say that this design will be successful”.
To demonstrate the capabilities of this space telescope, NASA unveiled the image that served to ‘fine tune’ the segments that make up the James Webb. It is believed that the James Webb will be ready to start operations within three months.
© NASA / James Webb
Looking sharp, Webb!
A special lens inside the NIRCam instrument took a “selfie” of Webb’s mirror segments, verifying their alignment with NIRCam. The segments are bright as they are all collecting light from the same star in unison. https://t.co/RPL4OItJNA #UnfoldTheUniverse pic.twitter.com/jSrupf7i4a
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) March 16, 2022
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