Since the newly launched telescope has several interesting missions, numerous people are wanting to know more about the James Webb Telescope's status since its launch a few days ago.
Luckily, there is a simple tool to track the space telescope without spending a huge amount of money.
What Is James Webb Telescope?
According to NASA, James Webb Telescope is the space agency's most powerful and biggest space research telescope ever built.
After launching from French Guiana, the observatory is now going on a 1-million-mile orbit. It will spend six months in space configuring its mirrors, sun-shield, and other minor components, as well as cooling, aligning and calibrating.
Astronomers across the world will be able to perform scientific observations to help them learn more about the cosmos. Webb will also contribute to the science that has already been accomplished by other NASA missions.
To further emphasize, the innovative technology of the James Webb Space Telescope will be used to examine every phase of cosmic history, from our solar system to the furthest detectable galaxies in the early cosmos.
Webb's infrared telescope will investigate a variety of scientific problems to better understand the universe's beginnings and our role within it. Additionally, Webb will be the first to glimpse a region of space and time that has never been observed before.
The said telescope will peer into the time when the first stars and galaxies began over 13.5 billion years ago.
The universe's constant expansion has extended the ultraviolet and visible light released by the very first luminous objects, resulting in infrared light today. Webb is built to "see" infrared light with extraordinary sensitivity and detail.
Since James Webb Space Telescope has several interesting missions, numerous people are curious to know about its status. Luckily, there is a simple way to know James Webb Telescope's status.
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Simple Tool To Know James Webb Telescope's Status
For those who do not know, NASA launched the new $10 billion telescope into space on December 25, labeling the delicate and challenging deployment procedure "29 days on the edge," per Mashable.
The said simple tool to track the James Webb Telescope status is through this NASA website.
The said tracker has numerous information about the space telescope, including launch elapsed, distance complete, cruising speed and more.
As of writing, the telescope is nearly 375,000 miles away from Earth, which is the equivalent of traveling the length of the United States 120 times.
Currently, the Deployable Tower Assembly (DTA) of the Webb Telescope status has been deployed. This movement or distance creates the necessary gap between the spaceship and the telescope, allowing for improved thermal isolation and the unfolding of the sun shield membranes.
To clarify, the DTA resembles a large black pipe and is constructed of a graphite-epoxy composite material to assure stability and strength in the face of high-temperature variations, such as those seen in space. The DTA stretches to 10 feet in length when completely deployed, per NASA.
The DTA is responsible for interacting with and supporting the spaceship and telescope structures. Two huge nested telescopic tubes are linked by a mechanical lead screw. It is a deployable construction that is incredibly light while also being extremely sturdy and solid.
After DTA, James Webb Telescope's next step would be the Aft Momentum Flap that is used to help offset some of the solar pressure that impinges on the large sun shield.
