Get ready to get your mind blown, our understanding of the universe could fundamentally change, thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope. On July 12, 2022, years of work will finally culminate in the first official images from the new telescope. Its predecessor, the Hubble Telescope, already dramatically changed how we view space and the universe thanks to its now-famous deep field images. Now, the JWST will do it again, this time as the world’s largest, most powerful telescope to ever exist. The telescope, initially called the Next Generation Space Telescope, was re-named in 2002 in honor of James E. Webb, who was made administrator of NASA in 1961 by JFK.
The Hubble Telescope first gave us the greatest, most detailed images of space we’ve ever seen — over thirty years ago. Just think about the improvements we can expect to see from its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope! Comprised of an iconic honeycomb shape (which inspired our Stargazer design), the telescope’s mirror array takes in light at the infrared level, an improvement from the Hubble. This allows us to see older light and clearer images. An impressive sun shield keeps the instruments cool — since light is temperature sensitive, this insures the images won’t be negatively affected by heat (on the sun-facing side, the shield can reach temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius).
We’ve already seen some test images, but the telescope hasn’t been fully calibrated yet, and won’t be until July 12th. JWST is situated in a stable orbit just past the moon, called the second Lagrange point or L2. It’s been calibrating for the last few months, and July 12th is the date of the first official, fully calibrated, complete color image.
We’re in the throes of an immensely important historical event, and it’s so exciting to be able to watch it unfold. Make sure you keep an eye out for the new images, and get ready to see a whole new world.
Let us know in the comments what you’re most excited about regarding James Webb — we always love to hear from you! And for more cool history, check out our blog posts on Pi, cryptocurrency, the Metaverse, and more.
