Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope - VastlyCurious

     We could use it to look back in time and figure out about the big bang and how the planetary systems formed. The James Webb Space Telescope could become our eye in finding the uncharted, unmapped, and unknown planets and stars in the observable universe. It will change our view of the cosmos and our place in it. It is going to be the largest and most complex ever built beating its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. It is going to be better than the Hubble in every way. It is going to be a new era of Space observations.

18 Hexagonal Segments made of Gold-plated Beryllium

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) could be used to find the composition and density of the exoplanets. It is planned and constructed by the collective efforts of the American, Canadian, and European Space agencies. After several rescheduled launches, the Webb is scheduled to be launched in December 2021. It could unravel several mysteries of the cosmos and find Alien life signatures. Using the infrared camera systems in the Webb telescope we could look into the universe in a way we have never seen before. We could even view the formation of the first planetary systems and galaxies in the universe.

How James Webb Telescope works?

    The Universe is not limited to what we see with our naked eye rather it contains several frequencies of light rays that cannot be seen by our telescopes. James Webb Telescope uses infrared technology to collect the infrared radiation in our universe. The visible light is often is absorbed by the stellar dust making it impossible to view certain planets and stars. But infrared signatures could not be blocked by the stellar clouds of dust because of their lower frequencies which allow penetrating through the specks of dust. It also has the capacity to collect longer wavelengths and it is more sensitive than the Hubble Telescope.

The James Webb Space Telescope

    The primary telescope is made up of 18 hexagonal segments made of beryllium, which is coated by the gold of 10 nanometers. The instruments inside the space probe receive the infrared rays from the secondary mirror which reflects the light from the primary mirror. The structure is too large to be launched in any rockets we have today and so it will be folded into the European launch vehicle Ariane 5. After launching the Webb telescope in orbit, the structure will take time to unfold itself and it will start capturing images 15 days after being deployed in orbit.

    Unlike the Hubble Telescope, the Webb telescope revolves around the sun following the path of the Earth's orbit. This telescope also couldn't be serviced once it is deployed in orbit as it will be at a distance of 1.5 million kilometres (approx. 93000 miles). It will be operated in extremely cold conditions and it is also made to sustain the solar radiation. Once deployed into the orbit, it is expected to have a mission lifespan of about 5-10 years and it cannot be even serviced because it will be deployed at a distance of 1 million kilometres. It will be way beyond the reach of a manned mission and so servicing it will not be tough.

How James Webb Telescope can see the past?

    The light travels at a finite speed and it takes about 8 minutes for the light rays from the sun to reach the surface of the Earth. So the Sun we are seeing now is how it looked 8 minutes ago. This applies to all the stellar objects we see in the night sky. They are just the mere version of how they were millions of years ago. We even don't know if the stars exist now as we only see the star's past. So this is the way we could time travel or look into the past. We could also understand the stretching of the universe using this infrared telescope. The further we see in the cosmos, the further we travel back in time.

    James Webb Telescope could view the infrared rays 13 billion light-years away, which is looking at what happened after the big bang. The formation of stars and planetary systems could be observed. We could find more about our origin in the cosmos and unravel the mysteries in our solar systems. JWTS could help us view the stars which are 13 billion years, which is just 100-250 million years after the great big bang. We could even find out about the expansion of the universe. We could even see and observe the first star or planet formed in the universe after the big bang.

Will James Webb Telescope find life?

Detection of Exoplanets using the Webb Telescope

    The observation of Exoplanets is crucial in detecting alien life forms outside our solar system. The James Webb Telescope has the capacity to observe the atmosphere and the compositions of more than 300 exoplanets. Because of its infrared capabilities, it could observe even the colder exoplanets, which have minimum temperatures of up to 27 degrees Celcius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The exoplanets, which are near to their host star are not observed by our regular telescopes, but the Webb telescope might be able to look into even the smaller exoplanets which are close to their host star. Biosignature or life detection could be done on the particular exoplanet if the planets seem to have the capacity to hold life on it.

What will James Webb Telescope see?

Distant Galaxies

    Unlike the Hubble Telescope, the James Webb Telescope doesn't revolve around our planet, but it revolves around the sun. So we could observe the other planets in our solar system. The main reason for the launch of the Webb Telescope was to observe the stellar cycle and the formation of the galaxies. It is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble telescope and it has a larger mirror and thus we can look further. It will help us map out our entire universe as the infrared rays peers through even the dusty areas in the cosmos. 

    The James Webb Telescope will expand the view of our universe and huge advancements could be made in space technology. As the new James Webb Telescope has a significantly larger field of view than the Hubble telescope, we might get a better idea of the universe and our place in it.