On Friday, July 11, the University of Wyoming’s Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium hosted a show that specifically highlighted the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA, and the ESA’s newest and largest space telescope. The show went over various aspects of it, including the launch of the telescope, where it is in space, how it operates, and most importantly, some of the beautiful awe-inspiring pictures of space that it’s already taken since it’s been up.
The James Webb Space Telescope had a bit of a troubled start. In the 90s, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched, which allowed us an unparalleled look into the cosmos. But even before it was launched, NASA scientists were examining ways to eventually surpass and replace it. Scientists became enamored with the idea of a colder infrared-based telescope, a design that would allow the new telescope to see much further than Hubble, and thus, the earliest concepts for Webb were born. However, it would take much longer before NASA could build and launch it. Originally scheduled for launch in 2007, Webb was delayed a whopping 14 years until 2021 due to a re-plan and several issues that came up with the design initially.
But, in 2021, the telescope was launched, and it went better than almost anyone could’ve expected. Webb had an extremely long and complicated deployment process once it was in space, and many feared that some component would break or deploy improperly, putting a stop to the mission. But, on July 12, 2022, everyone’s fears were assuaged, when Webb released its first official images, which looked absolutely spectacular.
But why is Webb able to see so much further than Hubble, as we mentioned earlier? Well, it has to do with the Doppler Effect. Because most galaxies in the universe are moving away from us, due to the Doppler effect, most appear to be “red-shifted,” causing the light from distant galaxies to be stretched and appear redder to us. Many of the most distant ones are so red-shifted that the only possible way for us to observe them is via the infrared spectrum, something that Hubble was ill-suited for in comparison to Webb, which can see galaxies much further away as a result of this phenomenon.
Webb is already revolutionizing what we know about space with these capabilities, casting doubts on whether or not we know how the creation of the universe went down, as well as a whole host of other things. One of the most notable things talked about during the presentation was Webb’s ability to analyze the atmospheric composition of exoplanets, something which has allowed scientists to see multiple characteristics about these mysterious bodies that were previously totally unknown. One, which I wrote about in the Spring Semester, was discovered to have possible marker signs for alien life.
The JWST is a marvel of modern engineering and one of humanity’s greatest feats to date. Despite it perhaps not being as stunning or news-worthy as say the Moon Landing, Webb is providing humanity with an invaluable scientific service, and will continue to do so throughout its 20-year-long mission lifespan, hopefully lasting even longer than that.
