Science|The Webb Telescope, NASAâs Golden Surfer, Is Almost Ready, Again
Final tests of the James Webb Space Telescopeâs sunshield at a Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, Calif., in December.Credit.Chris Gunn/NASA
Out There
The Webb Telescope, NASAâs Golden Surfer, Is Almost Ready, Again
After decades of fits and starts, the multibillion dollar successor to the Hubble telescope is expected to launch as soon as this fall.
Final tests of the James Webb Space Telescopeâs sunshield at a Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, Calif., in December.Credit.Chris Gunn/NASA
Published Feb. 2, 2021Updated Feb. 3, 2021
Dennis Overbye, The New York Times
Published: 02 Feb 2021 04:22 PM BdST
Updated: 02 Feb 2021 04:22 PM BdST In a photo provided by NASA, final tests of the James Webb Space Telescope’s sunshield at a Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, Calif, in December 2020. NASA via The New York Times
Birthing a new space telescope takes a long time and a lot of money and inspiration. Astronomers first began pestering NASA for the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope even before that telescope was launched into orbit in 1990. Back then they thought it could cost less than $1 billion and be ready in the first decade of the 21st century.
NASA s Roman Mission Will Probe Galaxy s Core for Hot Jupiters, Brown Dwarfs
When it launches in the mid-2020s, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will explore an expansive range of infrared astrophysics topics. One eagerly anticipated survey will use a gravitational effect called microlensing to reveal thousands of worlds that are similar to the planets in our solar system. Now, a new study shows that the same survey will also unveil more extreme planets and planet-like bodies in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, thanks to their gravitational tug on the stars they orbit.
“We were thrilled to discover that Roman will be able to offer even more information about the planets throughout our galaxy than originally planned,” said Shota Miyazaki, a graduate student at Osaka University in Japan who led the study. “It will be very exciting to learn more about a new, unstudied batch of worlds.”
January 31, 2021
Astronomers announced this month that a new deep-field survey called JADES will be carried out with the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble’s much-anticipated successor. The Webb is due to launch later this year.
The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (in its eXtreme version) is the deepest view of the universe yet obtained … and will be, until JADES takes over. It stretches approximately 13 billion light-years and includes approximately 10,000 galaxies. It took 11.3 days for the Hubble Space Telescope to collect these ancient photons. Try downloading the largest version and zoom in on different sections. We’re seeing these galaxies as they were billions of years ago. How might they look today? Image via NASA/ ESA/ S. Beckwith (STSci)/ HUDF team.
In this photo, a scientist at the European Space Agency's Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory at the ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands works on essential mission work.