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The Webb telescope is just getting started

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Space Technology

Source: Indian Express

 

Context: It was launched one year ago on a mission to observe the universe in wavelengths no human eye can see. With a primary mirror 21 feet wide, the Webb is seven times as powerful as the Hubble Space Telescope, its predecessor.

 

About James Webb Telescope:

  • James Webb Telescope is an international collaboration between NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency.
  • The telescope uses infrared light, which cannot be perceived by the human eye, to study every phase in cosmic history.

 

Mission objectives:

  • It will help in a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology.
  • It will help to understand the origins of the universe, the evolution of our own Solar System, and search for signs of life on faraway planets.
  • It can also analyze the atmospheres of exoplanets that pass in front of their stars.
  • It will look at a large number of things in the universe including icy moons, distant exoplanets and galaxy clusters.

 

For a Comparison between James Webb and Hubble telescopes, please click here

 

Parts of JWST (source: NASA):

 

 

Insta Links:

James Webb Space Telescope

Mains Link:

Q. Compare and contrast James Webb Telescope with that of the Hubble Telescope. What insights can James Webb Telescope offer about our past?