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Astronomy Picture of the Day - James Webb Space Telescope over Earth
APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 26 Dec, 2021 | Image Credit: Arianespace, ESA, NASA, CSA, CNES

Posted on 12/26/2021 3:48:20 PM PST by MtnClimber

Explanation: There's a big new telescope in space. This one, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), not only has a mirror over five times larger than Hubble's in area, but can see better in infrared light. The featured picture shows JWST high above the Earth just after being released by the upper stage of an Ariane V rocket, launched yesterday from French Guiana. Over the next month, JWST will move out near the Sun-Earth L2 point where it will co-orbit the Sun with the Earth. During this time and for the next five months, JWST will unravel its segmented mirror and an array of sophisticated scientific instruments -- and test them. If all goes well, JWST will start examining galaxies across the universe and planets orbiting stars across our Milky Way Galaxy in the summer of 2022.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; nasa; science
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To: MtnClimber

“...The featured picture shows JWST high above the Earth
just after being released by the upper stage of an Ariane V rocket...”
-
And ... “who/what” took this “picture”; and from “where”?
It makes no sense to me.


21 posted on 12/26/2021 6:19:09 PM PST by Repeal The 17th (Get out of the matrix and get a real life.)
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To: Repeal The 17th

The upper stage of the Ariane 5 rocket had a camera on it, and it shot this picture just after payload separation.


22 posted on 12/26/2021 6:39:30 PM PST by Campion (What part of "shall not be infringed" don't they understand?)
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To: MtnClimber
They turned on the Webb Telescope's main camera today, and here's the first picture returned from the spacecraft:

(Credit to: Reddit r/funny)

23 posted on 12/26/2021 6:48:03 PM PST by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.")
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To: MtnClimber
First images from JWST have arrived,


24 posted on 12/26/2021 6:54:50 PM PST by lagrange point1 (Space is no longer the final frontier)
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To: MtnClimber; Red Badger
There's already talk about the next telescope, Luvoir, and even some proposals for after Luvoir.

25 posted on 12/27/2021 1:52:24 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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