Scientific American
The James Webb Space Telescope’s First Year of Extraordinary Science Has Been Revealed
From more than 1,000 proposals, the scientists that hoped to perform the observatory’s historic first studies now know their fate
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Artist’s concept of the James Webb Space Telescope’s scientific capabilities. The infrared observatory’s large mirror will allow astronomers to search for the universe’s first galaxies and stars while also studying the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets.
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Years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) often finds itself the butt of jokes. From satirical Webcomics to more scathing criticism, the flagship project of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency is an easy target. Yet many would argue that those delays and budget concerns are simply indicative of the telescope’s unprecedented scope and soaring ambitions. When it hopefully launches
In 2020, incredible scientific discoveries didn t stop because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
First and foremost was the phenomenal work done by scientists to study the disease and develop vaccines in record time to put the brakes on the global pandemic. It was a truly Herculean effort by literally thousands of scientists around the world.
Otherwise, while nothing can compare to the vaccine effort for impact, we discovered there could be water on the sunlit surface of the moon, potentially life on Venus, Marsquakes on Mars, and the chance that dozens of intelligent civilizations could be scattered across our Milky Way galaxy.