Learn when and how to follow the launch of the James Webb Telescope
3 min read
After several delays, it appears that the James Webb Space Telescope that promises Revolutionizing Space Observation, will be released on Saturday (25). If all goes well, it will be a Christmas gift for astronomers, scientists, and enthusiasts.
The launch, which will take off from the Kourou space base in French Guiana, is scheduled to take place between 9:20 a.m. (GMT) and 9:50 a.m.
As usual, NASA (the US space agency) will send (in English) through social networks:
Why is the release of James Webb important?
With more than 20 years of development, the James Webb Space Telescope is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency). In general, it is estimated that 10 billion US dollars were spent on its construction.
JWST (James Webb Space Telescope), as it is also called, was Created to be able to visualize the past. It will use infrared light, which the human eye cannot perceive, to study how the first stars and galaxies formed, the birth of planetary systems and even the origins of life.
According to NASA, by displaying the universe in infrared wavelengths, JWST will show us things never before seen by any other telescope. Only at this wavelength can we see ancient structures from the era of the Big Bang.
It is considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been around since 1990. They will even be able to work on observations together.
For comparison, James Webb has a 6.5m wide mirror, while Hubble Calculation with 2.4 meters.
Launched on December 25 by a European Ariane 5 rocket, James Webb’s journey will still be a long way to reach his destination, Lagrange Point L2, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth – expectations are that this journey to this point in space will take 30 days.
Various delays
Initially, James Webb was expected to be released sometime between 2007 and 2011. However, over time, the project became increasingly complex. If there was a previous expectation to spend up to 3.5 billion US dollars, it ended up costing about 10 billion US dollars.
There was still an expectation of its release in 2018, but the agency postponed it again.
Finally, in October of this year, James Webb has arrived in French Guiana. The first release date was December 18, but technicians will detect a flaw.
After that, the launch was rescheduled for December 24, Christmas Eve. There was another cancellation but now due to bad weather.
Who is James Webb anyway?
As is common on NASA missions, this flight is named after a pioneer in space exploration. Considered James E. Webb is a key figure within the US space agency to implement Project Apollo, which included manned missions to the Moon.
James Webb, after whom the telescope is named, ran NASA between 1961 and 1968
Photo: NASA
He held a management position at NASA between 1961 and 1968. According to the agency’s website, he advocated a balance between manned missions and scientific missions, such as those performed by telescopes.
During his tenure, for example, robots were created to explore the moon so that later humans could visit our natural satellite and send probes into the orbit of Mars and Venus.
This year, a group of three astronomers published an article in the journal “Scientific American” Asks to rename the telescope. According to them, Webb was an official in Harry S. Truman’s government, which instituted a policy called “Lavender Scare”, which advocated the persecution of LGBT people. The US Space Agency has retained the name.
James Webb died at the age of 85 in March 1992.
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