While the Hubble Telescope built under the supervision of NASA is already in space and it has been predicted that it will be there for many more years, three international space agencies have come together to design and build another powerful and huge telescope called the James Webb Telescope. The final tests have been completed and now it is being prepped for shipment to its launch site which is French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America. This telescope is likely to be launched in the month of October. The newly-built telescope not only has a much larger mirror than Hubble but it also has instruments that give it longer wavelength coverage.
Therefore in today's FAQ, we dig more information on this new telescope and see how different it is going to be than the existing Hubble Telescope in space
What is The James Webb Telescope?
The James Webb telescope is the largest and the most powerful telescope that will be launched in space in October 2021. The telescope is a joint project by NASA-ESA-CSA and has been built to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope. A rocket called the Ariane 5 will deploy this telescope to a location nearly four times further away from the moon and 1.5 million kilometres from Earth in a direction away from the Sun.
What is the purpose of the James Webb Telescope?
The James Webb Telescope will find the first galaxies that were formed over 13.5 billion years ago and see the first stars by peering through the dusty clouds. This will be useful for astronomers to compare the faintest and earliest galaxies, grand spirals and ellipticals and see through the dusty clouds about the formation of planetary systems.
What are the differences in the features of the Webb and Hubble Telescopes?
While the James Webb Telescope will look at the universe in the infrared spectrum, Hubble has studied it so far using optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. At the same time, Hubble is in close orbit with the Earth but Webb will be 1.5 million kilometres away from the planet.
How long is the duration of the mission after the James Webb Telescope is launched?
The James Webb Telescope's mission lifetime after its launch in the month of October will be at least five and a half years and it could also last for more than ten years.
