On Christmas Day of 2021, NASA launched the James Webb telescope into orbit. The $10 billion successor to the Hubble space telescope was built to study the early universe, around 100 million years after the Big Bang.
The telescope looks into the past by looking into the distance. As light takes time to travel through space, we can see into the past by looking at the fainter, more distant objects. When we look at an object 100 million light years away, we are actually seeing its light from 100 million years ago.
The telescope is able to see these extremely faint objects because of its size. The larger the mirror in the telescope, the more detail you are able to see. The James Webb telescope is the size of a tennis court, meaning that it is able to see extremely faint, and therefore distant and old, objects.
On June 8, the James Webb telescope was hit by micrometeoroids. Fortunately, though the strike was larger than anticipated, only minimal damage was sustained by the telescope.
The telescope has spent the past few months getting into position in the shadow of the earth so that the sun does not interfere with the telescope’s ability to see faint objects. After all this preparation, the first images will be ready for public viewing at 10:30 AM ET on July 12.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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