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James Webb Space Telescope updated Jan 13, 2024….😱 Video of discoveries far and near!🧨

lots of testing
Is that better or worse?
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It's amazing how much prep and engineering went into just the TRANSPORT of this to the launch location.

This JWST is going to be one of mankind's greatest scientific achievements-- I cannot wait to watch for those first images.
Yep, they are going to have to rewrite all the physics and astronomy books once this is operational. Maybe the most important thing it will teach us is how little we really know. Some humble pie is always good for the soul.
 
Yep, they are going to have to rewrite all the physics and astronomy books once this is operational. Maybe the most important thing it will teach us is how little we really know. Some humble pie is always good for the soul.
Hubble already did that for me with the eXtreme Deep Field. Looking at just a small segment of sky and seeing 10,000 galaxies, each with several hundred million to a hundred trillion stars, just blew my mind.
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Hubble already did that for me with the eXtreme Deep Field. Looking at just a small segment of sky and seeing 10,000 galaxies, each with several hundred million to a hundred trillion stars, just blew my mind.
1024px-XDF-scale.jpg

1024px-Hubble_Extreme_Deep_Field_%28full_resolution%29.png

Yes, this was truly amazing.

LdN
 
Hubble already did that for me with the eXtreme Deep Field. Looking at just a small segment of sky and seeing 10,000 galaxies, each with several hundred million to a hundred trillion stars, just blew my mind.
1024px-XDF-scale.jpg

1024px-Hubble_Extreme_Deep_Field_%28full_resolution%29.png
The stupidity of the politics board is infinitly more vast.
 
Hubble already did that for me with the eXtreme Deep Field. Looking at just a small segment of sky and seeing 10,000 galaxies, each with several hundred million to a hundred trillion stars, just blew my mind.
1024px-XDF-scale.jpg

1024px-Hubble_Extreme_Deep_Field_%28full_resolution%29.png
For this photo, NASA pointed the telescope at the darkest part of the sky they could find. Meaning the area with the least stars and galaxies. Said it is the equivalent of you taking a drinking straw, pointing it at the spot with the least stars, and looking through the straw. This was a long time exposure photo that shocked them as to how many more structures there are in the universe.

The JWST will be hundred times as powerful so it’s findings will dwarf the Hubble, as shocking as that seems.
 
The launch date has been delayed until Dec 22 after a bit of a scare. Seems a launch band that holds the telescope in place to the rocket during launch had an unscheduled release. There was fear that the vibrations may have damaged the telescope but after a couple days of checking it appears to be fine.

 
Here’s another article on the vibrations and about how complex the deployment will be. But since the Webb is going to hit with substantial vibrations plus major g-forces during launch Imwould think some vibrations would be that threatening. Maybe it was more a wobble.....

 
For this photo, NASA pointed the telescope at the darkest part of the sky they could find. Meaning the area with the least stars and galaxies. Said it is the equivalent of you taking a drinking straw, pointing it at the spot with the least stars, and looking through the straw. This was a long time exposure photo that shocked them as to how many more structures there are in the universe.

The JWST will be hundred times as powerful so it’s findings will dwarf the Hubble, as shocking as that seems.

I got a cheap telescope when I was a kid. I was amazed at the number of stars out there when I first pointed it at that fuzzy thing to the naked eye called Orion's Belt.
 
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Launch delayed a couple days due to communication issues with a ground station. Launch set for 7:20 AM Friday. NASA setting up live feed but I imagine all networks would carry the actual launch.

Scientists that have been working on this for decades say they are so nervous they have problems sleeping and eating. Going to be a long six months for them!

 
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The Webb scope will be 100 times stronger than the Hubble. Think how amazing the Hubble is and then try to imagine what the Webb will discover.

The launch date is flexible and can be launched on any day unlike many launches with narrow windows. Then after launch it will take a month to be positioned 1.2 million miles from earth to the second Lagrange point where it will be in a stationary position. Then it it will be several more months before it is fully activated. So next spring we will be re-writing all of our science books!

Awesome!!!! They've already re-written all our history books! 🤣😉🙄
 
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The Webb telescope is on its way! Launch was perfect although a very cloudy day....looked like western Pa! All systems functioning well, solar array deployed and Webb under full power.

But a long way to go. Twelve hours after launch its booster rockets must fire to take it to its destination. Two weeks in it must deploy its complex heat shield. NASA calls this month ‘29 Days on the Edge’ as it has 300 maneuvers it must complete to be a successful, functioning observatory.

So far, a great Christmas present to humanity!

 
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Another link to the launch, with a number of pictures

Cool pics, thanks!

Found this cool tracking device on the JWST website. Gives you current data plus there is a tracking timeline noting upcoming critical events.

Web is already over 80,000 miles away from Earth and is moving at 1.5 miles per second!

 
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So last night the Webb, or aka the JWST, passed another critical milestone as it fired its booster engine to set the course for its Lagrange point destination. This was a critical burn that had to be done exactly on time. There are two more burns scheduled down as course corrections and could be done as needed. But last night the timing was critical and went off perfectly.

 
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Hubble already did that for me with the eXtreme Deep Field. Looking at just a small segment of sky and seeing 10,000 galaxies, each with several hundred million to a hundred trillion stars, just blew my mind.
1024px-XDF-scale.jpg

1024px-Hubble_Extreme_Deep_Field_%28full_resolution%29.png
Much agreed! They pointed Hubble in the darkest region of space they could find. And this is what we saw. Blew my mind. I’m beyond excited to see what’s coming…
 
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Web now well beyond lunar orbit. Second course correction burn completed. Now it starts to deploy the sun shield, the most complex part of the mission. Will take six days for completion. Excellent article on the sun shield. Also explains why the French Ariane 5 rocket was selected.....it has the widest fairing for the satellite to fit into.

Also, it said that while no astronauts can get to the Webb for repairs it may be possible to refuel it later. They placed some crosses as targets onto the ship so that a robotic vessel may be able to refuel it in the future. First I heard about that possibility. Very hopeful as the telescope only has enough fuel for 5-10 years depending on how often it must course correct. Such a powerful tool should be refueled to last much longer.

 
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Web no well beyond lunar orbit. Second Purse correction burn completed. Now it starts to deploy the sun shield, the most complex part of the mission. Will take six days for completion. Excellent article on the sun shield. Also explains why the French Ariane 5 rocket was selected.....it has the widest fairing for the satellite to fit into.

A Purse correction does not sound good ;)
 
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25 years and $10 billion of investment is about to be showcased in the next several days as the sun shield deployment begins. There are 300 single points of failure in that sequence that will make or break the James Webb Space telescope. I found a 30 minute video of the incredible engineering that went into its creation.
 
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25 years and $10 billion of investment is about to be showcased in the next several days as the sun shield deployment begins. There are 300 single points of failure in that sequence that will make or break the James Webb Space telescope. I found a 30 minute video of the incredible engineering that went into its creation.
That was a fabulous video. Some great info that I didn’t know. Like that each individual mirror segment has a frame and servo motors that can bend the shape of each mirror. This would allow for corrections if there are any problems with focusing the overall mirror. Allows for corrections for any number of things.

Thanks for posting it!
 
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Webb already half way to it’s L2 point in only seven days. But it’s speed is way down .....now 0.4344 miles per second from a peak that I saw in excess of 1.5miles per second.

Also half way through the six day process of deploying its heat shield. Booms are out, protective membranes removed. So far it’s working exactly as planned.

And they started posting temperatures although shield is not deployed. Hot side peak is 97F and cold side is -228F.


 
Webb already half way to it’s L2 point in only seven days. But it’s speed is way down .....now 0.4344 miles per second from a peak that I saw in excess of 1.5miles per second.

Also half way through the six day process of deploying its heat shield. Booms are out, protective membranes removed. So far it’s working exactly as planned.

And they started posting temperatures although shield is not deployed. Hot side peak is 97F and cold side is -228F.


Now more than halfway there....which. TSM said, but neat to see on that link.
 
So both sides of the sun shield have been successfully deployed, which was the scariest part. Next they have to stretch it out to its proper tension which could be an issue if there are any tears in any of its ten sheets. (Five layers on each side). So far so good....
 
So the heat shields have been deployed and starting today the team will start to tension the shield into its final deployment.

They took a day off Sat and spent Sunday doing a power systems check. Said that no matter how much they test on earth it isn’t the same as space so they wanted to check out the state of the ship. Appears all systems are good since they are progressing.

They also activated four thermometers last week, two on the hot side and two on the cold side. Cold side was -242 before shield deployment and now is -314. Hot side is up to 136. So shields made a big difference.

 
So the heat shields have been deployed and starting today the team will start to tension the shield into its final deployment.

They took a day off Sat and spent Sunday doing a power systems check. Said that no matter how much they test on earth it isn’t the same as space so they wanted to check out the state of the ship. Appears all systems are good since they are progressing.

They also activated four thermometers last week, two on the hot side and two on the cold side. Cold side was -242 before shield deployment and now is -314. Hot side is up to 136. So shields made a big difference.

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A cheer went up when it was announced the shields are up and properly tensioned. This was said to be the most complex operation ever attempted in space. And it went so well it finished ahead of schedule....sort of.

On Sunday they did a full system analysis and found a couple things to tweak. They were not getting optimum power from the solar array so they did a rebalancing and that corrected it. Thye also determined the servo motors for the sun shield were warmer than they wanted so they realigned the position of the satellite....which cooled the motors to the proper temp.

Once they started the shield deployment it went quite well and finish in less time than scheduled.

Now they will warm the motors to the mirror and start the deployment of the secondary mirror. Should take a day or two. Then onto the primary mirror.

Webb is now just shy of two thirds there based on distance but it is slowing down. Speed is down to just under a third of a mile per second, down from the peak at 1.5 mile / sec. So it will take over two more weeks to reach the L2 orbital point.

Next step.....the mirror!

 
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