Space Zoo Patrol – In-space Astronomy (Webb Telescope)

By   Elaine Stewart (Aerospace Engineer), NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center 

  1. What is the name of the technology? 

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

  1. What does it do?

The James Webb Space Telescope is a large infrared telescope with an approximately 6.5 meter primary mirror.  Webb successfully launched from ESA’s (European Space Agency) spaceport in French Guiana on December 25, 2021 07:20am EST (2021-12-25 12:20 GMT/UTC).

Webb will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. The Webb Telescope is also looking at the formation and death of stars!

  1. How does it work?

Webb gathers infrared (heat) light from stars, galaxies, planets, comets, and other objects in space using its large, gold-coated primary mirror. That infrared light is then reflected into instruments or cameras that image the objects in space and then send that data back to Earth for scientists to study.

We receive the data in Baltimore, MD at the Space Telescope institute. The data is then processed by scientists and engineers to create the images we see.

  1. How is it better than the older technology?

Webb is designed to look deeper into space to see the earliest stars and galaxies that formed in the Universe and to look deep into nearby dust clouds to study the formation of stars and planets. In order to do this, Webb has a much larger primary mirror than Hubble (2.7 times larger in diameter, or about 6 times larger in area), giving it more light-gathering power. It also has infrared instruments with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity than Hubble. Finally, Webb operates much farther from Earth, maintaining its extremely cold operating temperature, stable pointing, and higher observing efficiency than with the Earth-orbiting Hubble.

  1. What classes should I take in school to work on this?

Math (All kinds! Algebra, Geometry), Physics, Science, Biology, Arts.
I would also recommend looking into joining clubs like robotics! The hands on experience is really important to NASA and making missions like Webb possible.
If you are curious and ask questions, you are thinking like a scientist and an engineer! Arts classes are very important, too. We must be very creative in our engineering solutions.

  1. Pictures
  1. Pictures

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasawebbtelescope/albums/

In-space Astronomy (Webb Telescope) 1

Elaine Stewart with portion of the Webb telescope when it was located in Los Angeles, CA. Before integration onto our sunshield which protects the instruments from the sun!

In-space Astronomy (Webb Telescope) 2

Webb’s Jupiter image shows the auroras here (https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/08/22/webbs-jupiter-images-showcase-auroras-hazes/)