How NASA Will Soon Explore the Origins of the Universe
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Chapter 1: The Journey Begins
This remarkable journey commences in a lush tropical rainforest on Earth and extends back to the dawn of time, close to the Universe's inception.
In a historic event on December 25, NASA took a significant leap towards unraveling the mysteries of the Universe's infancy with the successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. This groundbreaking $9 billion infrared telescope represents a collaborative effort involving NASA alongside European and Canadian space agencies.
The launch occurred early Saturday at around 7:20 a.m. EST, utilizing Ariane 5 double solid-rocket boosters from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Designed as Hubble's successor, Webb will orbit the Sun at a distance of 1 million miles from Earth, maintaining a precise alignment with our planet. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson likened the telescope to a “time machine,” capable of “capturing the light from the very beginning of the creation.”
The Science Behind the Mission
Webb's primary objective is to penetrate through dense clouds of gas and dust where new stars are forming, utilizing its focus on the infrared spectrum. The telescope's larger light-collecting capability allows it to observe celestial objects at unprecedented distances, enabling it to look further back in time than any previous telescope.
While Hubble could only glimpse around 400 million years post-Big Bang, Webb is expected to capture light from just 100 million years after this monumental event. Thus, the mission aims to investigate “infant” galaxies and the formation of the earliest stars. Astronomical operations are projected to commence in the summer of 2022, with a mission duration of up to 10 years that promises to transform the fields of astrophysics and astronomy forever.
Chapter 2: The Impact of Webb
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