James Webb Space Telescope Launch Souvenir T-Shirt

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The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST or Webb) is a large infrared telescope with an approximately 6.5 meter primary mirror. Webb successfully launched from ESA's spaceport in French Guiana on December 25, 2021 07:20am EST ( 2021-12-25 12:20 GMT/UTC) . You can EXPLORE past and upcoming deployments on the way to L2 and through commissioning. The Deployment Explorer opens to the most recently completed (unless noted as "Status:Ongoing" ) deployment/commissioning step, all steps to the "left" (on the top thumbnail nav) are COMPLETED, all steps to the "right" (on the top thumbnail nav) are FUTURE. L2 is approximately 1 million miles from Earth (932056 miles/1.5M km to be exact). But Webb never actually arrives at L2, it is travelling to enter an orbit around L2. Webb's L2 orbit is very large in size and it enters its orbit before it reaches the linear distance between Earth and L2. Webb's orbit around L2 is known as a halo orbit which, rather than a single path, is an orbit that periodically varies through a series of paths around L2. Webb observations are used to study every phase in the history of the Universe, including the evolution of the Solar System, and the formation of distant stellar systems capable of supporting life on Earth-like exoplanets. Goals of the Webb mission incorporate topics relevant to astrobiology:

Locating the Observation Points : this button will open a panel to identify the locations of the temperature observation points on the spacecraft. Temperatures are updated once per day during Webb's cool down and then weekly through the end of commissiong once they are at operational levels (see blog: Final Temperature? ). In general, temperatures change slowly so this frequency is sufficient to give a snapshot of overall trends. Temperatures are rounded to the nearest whole number and displayed in the users choice of Farenheit or Celsius along with Kelvin in parentheses. The Carina Nebula as observed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Called the Cosmic Cliffs, the region is actually the edge of a gigantic, gaseous cavity within NGC 3324, roughly 7,600 light-years away. The cavernous area has been carved from the nebula by the intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from extremely massive, hot, young stars located in the center of the bubble, above the area shown in this image. The high-energy radiation from these stars is sculpting the nebula's wall by slowly eroding it away. (more) Zoom In/Out : Desktop- mouse wheel, Mobile/Touch- pinch in/out. Keyboard: ZOOM in/out - W/S, Add SHIFT for faster speed.Researchers supported by the NASA Astrobiology program are involved in numerous aspects of the Webb mission. Data from Webb will be used to study the formation and evolution of habitable worlds, and will be invaluable in understanding processes that have shaped habitability in our own solar system. Webb is capable of making detailed observations that might one day allow astrobiologists to identify signatures of life on Earth-like planets beyond our Solar System. Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. Measure the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems, including our own Solar System, and investigate the potential for life in those systems

Temperatures are updated once per day daily during Webb's cool down and then weekly through the end of commissiong once they are at operational levels (see blog: Final Temperature? ). In general, temperatures change slowly so this frequency is sufficient to give a snapshot of overall trends. Temperatures are rounded to the nearest whole number and displayed in the users choice of Farenheit or Celsius along with Kelvin in parentheses. Labelled Spacecraft : Above the Eyes panel is a button to pop-up a labelled spacecraft image to help you identify Webb's subsystems as you move around it in 3d.

Webb during final integration. The Story of Webb Gallery. the premier observatory of the next decade With much higher speeds early in the trip, Webb covers a large percentage of the distance to L2 orbit early in its trip. This can be seen by toggling the "time" vs "distance %" views on the "progress line". Webb's speed is at its peak while connected to the push of the launch vehicle. It begins to slow rapidly after separation as it coasts up hill climbing the gravity ridge from Earth to its orbit around L2. Note on the TIME view that Webb reaches the altitude of the moon in ~2.5 days (which is ~8% of the total trip time but ~25% of its trip distance). See the sections below on Distance to L2 and Arrival at L2 for more information on the distance travelled to L2.