After 20 years of work and billions of dollars spent, the gigantic NASA space telescope is completed. It has gold plated mirrors and is 100 times more powerful than Hubble

James Webb Space Telescope Mirror photo: commons.wikipedia.org

After years of effort and billions of dollars invested, the components of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is finally realized.

Giant telescope mirror was presented yesterday at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. With its 18 smaller mirrors hexagonal gold plated, which are part of it, his power of observation is 100 times larger than the Hubble.

Also, this week was made public that was built a sunshade the size of a tennis court to protect the optics of the telescope sun. After a few tests will start, probably telescope mirror and hood are integrated together.

photo: Nasa/ Chris Gunn   

"When it will be completed, Webb will be the largest and most complex space observatory was ever built," said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), is a Flagship-class space observatory under construction and scheduled to launch in October 2018. The JWST will offer unprecedented resolution and sensitivity from long-wavelength (orange-red) visible light, through near-infrared to the mid-infrared (0.6 to 27 micrometers), and is a successor instrument to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. While Hubble has a 2.4-meter (7.9 ft) mirror, the JWST features a larger and segmented 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft 4 in) primary mirror and will be located near the Earth–Sun L2 point. A large sunshield will keep its mirror and four science instruments below 50 K (−220 °C; −370 °F).

photo: tecmania.ch

JWST's capabilities will enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology. One particular goal involves observing some of the most distant events and objects in the Universe, such as the formation of the first galaxies. These types of targets are beyond the reach of current ground and space-based instruments. Another goal is understanding the formation of stars and planets. This will include direct imaging of exoplanets.

In gestation since 1996, the project represents an international collaboration of about 17 countries led by NASA, and with significant contributions from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It is named after James E. Webb, the second administrator of NASA, who played an integral role in the Apollo program

The JWST has a history of major cost overruns and delays. The first realistic budget estimates were that the observatory would cost $1.6 billion and launch in 2011. NASA has now scheduled the telescope for a 2018 launch. In 2011, the United States House of Representatives voted to terminate funding, after about $3 billion had been spent and 75% of its hardware was in production.Funding was restored and capped at $8 billion. As of winter 2015–2016, the telescope remained on schedule for an October 2018 launch and within the 2011 revised budget

size comparison of the hubble space telescope and the james webb photo: pics.about.space.com

When will be released in October 2018 it will be positioned behind the Moon's orbit, in a region called gravitational stable Lagrange Point 2, or L2 simple. From here, the vision of the cosmos will be unobstructed. Although it is considered the successor to Hubble, there are some clear differences between them, JWST could achieve using infrared view of the universe. However, its size will enable detailed observation of galaxies, stars and probably and exoplanets. This will be possible thanks to the telescope's capability to penetrate cosmic dust using infrared rays.

Initially, the launch of the telescope was scheduled for 2011, and its cost should not exceed $ 1 billion, but various delays have meant that its launch is scheduled for 2018. Furthermore, it will not be supplied with fuel when when it is in space, unlike Hubble, which has several repair missions manned to fix defects and improve.

Its construction began more than 20 years.



Other articles on the same theme:

• Cloudy days on exoplanets may hide atmospheric water
• 4,000 confirmed exoplanets similar to Earth
• Dark Energy vs. Dark Matter
• 10 fascinating planets outside the Solar System
• The newfound alien world named HD 131399Ab

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