The satellite has settled in orbit around our planet, one million miles away. It is now ready to go back in time and see the beginning of the universe.
But before James Webb captures and releases its first starry images in June, astronomers have been able to snap photos of the $10 billion (£7.4 billion) space telescope itself, from right here on Earth.
Webb was discovered in Rome by the Virtual Telescope Project.
Astronomers then used a robotic telescope to take a five-minute exposure of Webb just as it was arriving at its destination at the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2, about 930,000 miles (1.5 million km) away from our planet.
Excellent spot. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now in orbit at a staggering photo by astronauts. The telescope weighs in at $10 billion and can be seen from a distance of one million miles.
Webb was found in Rome’s Virtual Telescope Project.
Webb was captured by an astronomer using a robot telescope. It arrived at Earth’s Sun Lagrange Point 2 approximately 930,000 miles distant.
Gianluca Masi is the project manager. She stated that “our robotic telescope detected the apparent motion (JWST) of James Webb Space Telescope, which is indicated by an Arrow in the center.
JWST, at imaging time, was approximately 1.4 million kilometers from us. It just arrived at its destination, L2 (2nd Lagrangian Point) of the Earth’s sun system. This L2 point can be seen directly from the sun.
Webb can be spotted with a binocular – NASA says it is possible to view the space observatory using binoculars.
Lee Feinberg, NASA Goddard’s Webb optical telescope element manger, stated that it was “just near the Big Dipper” in a Webcast on Monday.
“You cannot see it clearly with your naked eyes, but you will be able to see it with binoculars.”
James Webb, which is the successor to the iconic three-decade-old Hubble telescope, has an ambitious mission to study the early universe, work out how fast it is now expanding and analyse objects throughout the cosmos ranging from galaxies to exoplanets.
This long-delayed mission launched finally on December 25, and it has been going smoothly thus far.
Over the past month, the telescope gradually unfolded on its journey to the second Lagrangian points (L2) which are areas of equal gravity between Earth’s sun and Earth. This is where the telescope will rest for the next ten years.
Due to its size — larger than a tennis court when fully deployed — Webb had to be folded up to fit inside the Ariane 5 rocket when it launched from the European Space Agency spaceport in French Guiana.
Last week it deployed all of its mirrors, much to the delight of engineers, and on Monday the space observatory reached its parking spot at Lagrange Point 2.
One hexagonal segment makes up the famous golden mirror.
Seven actuators allow each of the segments to be controlled. All of them are now in the deployed position.
James Webb’s primary reflection measures 21 feet (4 inches) wide and 6.5 meters in height. It is composed of 18 sections of hexagonal gold-plated beryllium metallic. Three carbon fiber tubes or struts support it from the main mirror which is made up of 18 hexagonal segments.
Lift Off: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched into space on December 25, 2005
The US-space agency began work deploying the mirror segments on January 12, and planned for the project to take 10 days — but completed it in a week.
The telescope still needs some fine tuning to make sure every position of the mirrors is correctly turned so that it produces one super-powerful lens.
This process will take approximately three months. After that, it will require testing and calibration of other equipment, as well cooling down the observatory.
After the final tweaking is complete, James Webb will capture the first science images. These will be processed for about a month, before being released to the public in June.
NASA describes Webb as “the premier space-science observatory” in the next decade. It will view the cosmos through the infrared spectrum and can see where stars are emerging from clouds of dust and gas.
Hubble, in contrast, has been operating primarily at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths since 1990.
Webb has a power about 100 times greater than Hubble. This allows it to see objects from a wider distance and thus further back than Hubble.
This will bring into view a glimpse of the cosmos never previously seen — dating to just 100 million years after the Big Bang, the theoretical flashpoint that set in motion the expansion of the observable universe an estimated 13.8 billion years ago.
The new space telescope has been developed at a cost of $8.8 billion (£6.6 billion), with operational expenses projected to bring its total price tag to about $9.66 billion (£7.2 billion).
Hubble is about 100 times less powerful than Hubble’s orbiting Infrared Observatory.
NASA prefers to see James Webb more as an extension of Hubble than as a replacement. They will continue to work together for some time.
JWST, an international collaboration that began in 1996 by NASA, in partnership with Canadian and European satellite agencies, was initiated in 1996.
James Webb was developed in 1996. It was initially planned to launch in 2007. However, a major redesign of 2005 forced this delay.
The construction of the building was finished in 2016. A period for testing began but was delayed by Covid.
At the end of last 2011 it was finally launched into orbit.
What is the JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE?
James Webb telescope is described as “a time machine”, which could be used to unravel the secrets and mysteries of our universe.
This telescope can be used to view back at the very first galaxies that were born more than 13.5 million years ago in the early universe, as well as to observe the origins of stars and exoplanets.
The vast telescope, which has already cost more than $7 billion (£5 billion), is considered a successor to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope
The James Webb Telescope and most of its instruments have an operating temperature of roughly 40 Kelvin – about minus 387 Fahrenheit (minus 233 Celsius).
Officials say the cost may exceed the $8 billion (£5.6 billion) program cap set by Congress. The space agency has already poured $7 billion (£5 billion) into the telescope.
It will launch in 2021 and be the largest telescope on the planet, capable of looking back to 200 million years from the Big Bang.