The James Webb Telescope

The James Webb Telescope is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. Infrared astronomy specializes in observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared radiation.  Infrared radiation allows the observer to see light from very far distance, which is not visible to the human eye. The James Webb Telescope is roughly as big as a tennis court (a tennis court is 78×36 ft) and is folded to fit in a rocket so that it can be transported to the outer space, and the telescope is designed to unfold itself in space. Previously, in 1990 the Hubble Space Telescope was launched and had similar goals of exploring the universe. However, the Hubble telescope was not powerful enough to look into deep space and this led to the next project of James Webb Telescope, which is built with a 21-foot mirror, more than two and a half times larger than the Hubble and was launched on December 25, 2021. Unlike the Hubble telescope which orbits the earth, the James Webb Telescope is in an orbit about one million miles from earth (four times the distance from earth to moon) and goes around the sun (like planets), providing unprecedented views into the vast universe. This telescope has four main goals of, to search for light from the first stars and galaxies that formed in the universe after the Big Bang, to study galaxy formation and evolution, to understand star and planet formation, and lastly to study planetary systems and the origins of life. The James Webb Telescope has sent back some of its first images recently of distant galaxies and stars. It has also discovered some unseen clouds and evidence of star formation and galaxy’s central black hole. Recently, this telescope detected a distinct signature of water on a hazy exoplanet (that is, a planet that orbits a star outside the solar system) which is about 1,150 light years away. This exoplanet is called WASP-96B and the Webb telescope is spending a considerable amount of time on this world, which is nothing like Earth. WASP-96B is considered a “hot Jupiter” and is little larger than Jupiter. This exoplanet is of high interest because of the presence of water detected, which is strongly correlated to the origin of life. This means that WASP- 96B may possibly have life on it, and scientists are further studying it. On this exoplanet, however, the temperatures are very high, exceeding over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if there truly is a species on this planet it will be interesting to see how it can survive these extreme weather conditions. Overall, we can see how the James Webb Telescope is a great step that would help us learn more about the universe and the origin of life. It is continuing to do lots of research in the deep universe and helping the human society gain a deeper understanding of the cosmos.