INDONESIAN MATA, NEW YORK – The Hubble telescope was very influential in the development of astronomy. However, the telescope has been operating for 3 decades. NASA has also made a new telescope that is ready to replace Hubble Telescope. It’s called the Webb Telescope
With a larger form, this new telescope can exceed the potential of the Hubble Telescope so that it can provide new knowledge. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the name of the Space Telescope that is ready to launch into space in the near future.
Curious about this telescope?
The Webb telescope uses an astronomical mirror 6.5 meters in diameter. Much larger than the Hubble Telescope which has a diameter of 2.4 meters. Because of its large size, it can take up to two weeks for the mirror to unfold perfectly when in space later. This project is a joint project between America, Europe and Canada and costs up to 10 Billion USD.
The telescope will blast off into space from French Guiana on Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket. After launching from the rocket for about 30 minutes, the telescope will face 344 critical moments in order to reach the configuration.
The Webb telescope will travel 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to reach its orbital point. Roughly it will take about 30 days. This distance is 4 times farther than the moon.
After all went smoothly, the Webb Telescope could not immediately produce images. According to Dr Amber Nicole Straughn, Astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Deputy of the Project, the telescope took 6 months to become fully operational and produce its first images.
With a much larger mirror, the light capture area will be larger so it is believed to be able to see further into the past.
With the ability to see further into the past, the Webb Telescope will assist in searching for signs of life on other planets. In addition, the Webb Telescope can also see into dust clouds, where stars and planetary systems form.
With infrared features far better than Hubble’s, the Webb Telescope will be able to show the universe better by capturing light that is invisible to the human eye.
NASA plans to launch the Webb Telescope on December 18, 2021. However, the launch plan had to be delayed because there was an “incident” that occurred during the launch preparation period. NASA said the new schedule would be confirmed soon after the investigation.
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