James Webb Telescope (JWST)

Context: Recently, NASA celebrated the anniversary of the James Webb telescope by sharing a new image of sun­like stars being born. The picture is of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the nearest stellar nursery to Earth.

Image credit: The Hindu 

About James Webb Telescope:

• The James Webb Space Telescope  is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity.
• Developed by:  NASA with the assistance of the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
• Launched in :It was launched in  2021, with the mission duration of 5-10 years
• Location in space: It is placed at Lagrange point 2, approximately 1.5 million km beyond Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
• Size: Webb’s primary mirror is approximately 6.5 metres in diameter, giving it a significantly larger collecting area than the mirrors of the current generation of space telescopes.
• Wavelength: It will provide wavelength coverage from 0.6 to 28 microns (the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum).
• Objectives: 
  • Search for the first galaxies and luminous objects formed after the Big Bang.
  • Determine how galaxies evolved from their formation until now.
  • Observe the formation of stars from the first stages to the formation of planetary systems.
  • Measure the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems, including our own Solar System, and investigate the potential for life in those systems.

News Source: BBC

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