Posted by Davin Flateau on 28 Apr 2005 at 9:25 am.
Filed under Astronomy.
The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, is due to launch in 2011. The JWST (previously called the Next Generation Space Telescope) isn’t a direct sequel or replacement for Hubble. It will sport a completely different design.
For instance, its optics will be optimized to observe infrared light, whereas Hubble was designed to look at a broader range of light. The new telescope will be stationed a million miles from earth, a long drive from Hubble’s home in near earth orbit. But the “biggest” difference between Hubble and the JWST will be its size. This new telescope is huge. It will have a much larger mirror — 6.5 meters in diameter compared to Hubble’s 2 meters. A multilayered shield that protects the main mirror from the sun is the size of a tennis court!
A few weeks ago, the telescope’s builders at Northrop Grumman unveiled a full scale model of the JWST. You can get a sense of scale by comparing it to the size of the people standing nearby. If all goes well (and it has to - the new telescope will be too far away for any manned servicing mission), it should open up a window from the early universe here to the 21st century.
Davin Flateau
Andrew Shaner on 29 Apr 2005 at 2:30 pm: 1
JWST is going to rock!!
dflateau on 29 Apr 2005 at 7:20 pm: 2
I can’t imagine the detail we’ll get about early galaxy formation!
GARY RYMELL on 20 Jun 2007 at 2:39 am: 3
THIS IS THE FIRST SIGHT I HAVE FOUND TO TELL YOU WHAT I THINK.
THE UNIVERSE IS NOT ACCELERATING, WE ARE LOOKING AT LIGHT SOME 14 BILLION YEARS AGO WHICH APPEARS TO BE MOVING FASTER THAN CLOSER GALAXIES, THATS BECOUSE THE UNIVERSE WAS MOVING FASTER THEN DUE TO THE SO CALLED BIG BANG.
IF WE WERE ON ONE OF THE GALAXIES 14 BILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY LOOKING BACK AT EARTH WE WOULD LOOK THE SAME WITH RED SHIFT. NOW THAT WOULD INDICATE THAT WE ARE ACCELERATING, BE WE CAN NOT BE BECOUSE WE WOULD FEEL THE ACCELERATION ON EARTH, BUT WE DON’T.
IN MY OPINION THE UNIVERSE WAS MOVING FASTER MANY YEARS AGO BUT HAS SLOWED DOWN OVER TIME THAT IS WHY NEARER GALAXIES APPEAR TO MOVE SLOWER. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
GARY RYMELL on 20 Jun 2007 at 2:39 am: 4
THIS IS THE FIRST SIGHT I HAVE FOUND TO TELL YOU WHAT I THINK.
THE UNIVERSE IS NOT ACCELERATING, WE ARE LOOKING AT LIGHT SOME 14 BILLION YEARS AGO WHICH APPEARS TO BE MOVING FASTER THAN CLOSER GALAXIES, THATS BECOUSE THE UNIVERSE WAS MOVING FASTER THEN DUE TO THE SO CALLED BIG BANG.
IF WE WERE ON ONE OF THE GALAXIES 14 BILLION LIGHT YEARS AWAY LOOKING BACK AT EARTH WE WOULD LOOK THE SAME WITH RED SHIFT. NOW THAT WOULD INDICATE THAT WE ARE ACCELERATING, BE WE CAN NOT BE BECOUSE WE WOULD FEEL THE ACCELERATION ON EARTH, BUT WE DON’T.
IN MY OPINION THE UNIVERSE WAS MOVING FASTER MANY YEARS AGO BUT HAS SLOWED DOWN OVER TIME THAT IS WHY NEARER GALAXIES APPEAR TO MOVE SLOWER. WHAT DO YOU THINK?