The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled for launch on November-December this Year(2021). The Webb telescope was formerly known as the "Next Generation Space Telescope" (NGST); it was renamed in September 2002 after a former NASA administrator.
The Webb Space Telescope often gets called the replacement for Hubble, but we prefer to call it.
Hubble and its successor Webb telescope
a successor. After all, Webb is the scientific successor to Hubble; all of its science goals were motivated by results from Hubble.
Hubble's science pushed us to look to longer wavelengths to "go beyond" what Hubble has already done.
This time we are one more step closer to our future. We may consider "The Webb" as an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage, greatly improved sensitivity, and much more.
1. Size Of The Telescope
Surprisingly The Webb is as big as a tennis court. With a sunshield of 22 meters (72 feet) in length and a mirror of 6.5 meters (21 feet) wide, the JWST is over twice the size of the Hubble Space Telescope, making it the largest space telescope ever launched.
Besides, it has an optical resolution of ~0.1 arc-seconds, and the focal length is about 131.4 meters.
2. Gold Mirrors
The JWST's mirrors are covered in gold to optimize them for infrared light, with the gold further protected by a thin layer of glass.
Gold mirror plates
The thickness of gold coating = 100 x 10-9 meters (1000 angstroms). Surface area = 25 m2. Using these numbers plus the density of gold at room temperature (19.3 g/cm3), the coating is calculated to use 48.25g of gold, about equal to the mass of a golf ball. For
3. Four Times Further From Earth Than The Moon
The JWST will take about a month to reach a position 1.5 million kilometers from Earth known as Lagrange point 2 or L2. Here the telescope's observations will be unhindered by earth and the moon, although, if it malfunctions(as happened with Hubble), we currently have no ways to go and fix it.
Distance from the Earth
4.It Could Find Water on Exoplanets
One of the JWST's most notable abilities is detecting planets around nearby stars by measuring infrared radiation. It will even be able to measure the atmospheres of exoplanets by studying the starlight that passes through.
By doing this, it will be able to determine if an exoplanet has liquid water on its surface. This Webb telescope will also find multiple numbers of Earth-like planets.
More interestingly, we may find life on those planets; atleast we aren't alone in this whole universe.
5.Formation Of The Universe
One of the main goals of the JWST is to observe the first stars and galaxies that formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, an era of the universe that is not yet understood properly. For that, it will peer back in time over 13.5 billion years.
Webb will be able to see right through and into massive clouds of dust that are opaque to visible-light observatories like Hubble, where stars and planetary systems are being born.
Finally, we will have some accurate views on how things got started.
6.Seven Times More Powerful Than The Hubble
The giant mirror of the JWST is made of 18 individual hexagonal segments composed of lightweight beryllium. It is three times the size of Hubble's mirror, boasting a light-collecting area seven times greater, but both mirrors weigh almost the same owing to the lighter materials used on the JWST's mirror.
This comparison clearly suggests the capacities of the James Webb Telescope.
7.It Could Keep Working For A Decade
Officially, the lifespan of the JWST mission is between five to ten years. The telescope is limited by the amount of fuel it has onboard used to maintain its position, which will be enough for a ten-year lifetime.
8.Difference Of Temperature
the side of the JWST that will always face the sun, the bottom of the sunshield will reach a temperature of approximately 230 degrees F.
The other side, which houses the mirrors and other instruments, will operate much nippier, around -394 degrees F.
We are just a few days away from witnessing the launch event of the telescope; let's pray for the best.
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