The extent to which the most potent telescope reaches in the cosmos.
The world's most powerful telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), was launched in December 2021, marking a significant leap in astronomical exploration. This remarkable instrument, located at a Lagrange point approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, surpasses its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, in its ability to observe the cosmos.
The JWST's primary mirror, measuring 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) in diameter, is significantly larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's. This expansive mirror, coupled with the telescope's infrared and near-infrared observing capabilities, enables the JWST to detect faint, distant objects that are invisible to telescopes like Hubble.
The JWST's extraordinary reach allows it to observe objects as far as roughly 13.7 billion years into the past, representing some of the earliest stars and galaxies formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. This extraordinary reach is made possible by the JWST's large primary mirror and its infrared observing capabilities, which help it identify distant light that the Hubble Space Telescope cannot see.
Astronomers measure the redshift of distant celestial bodies to bypass complications related to the expansion of the universe and the finite speed of light. One such contender, MoM-z14, has a redshift of 14.44, making it older than JADES-GS-z14-0, which has a redshift of 14.18 and is one of the farthest known redshift contenders, putting it at about 290 million years after the Big Bang.
Light travels at a speed of 299,792,458 meters per second (186,282 miles per second), but it takes light from our sun 43.2 minutes to reach Jupiter, but only 8 minutes to reach Earth. The JWST's location in space allows it to see billions of light-years away, free from the obscuring haze of Earth's atmosphere and its unique problems, such as light pollution and atmospheric turbulence, which can blur and distort images and limit a telescope's ability to see deeply into space.
The JWST's total collecting area of more than 270 square feet (25 square m) is significantly larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's, further enhancing its ability to capture light from distant objects. One study analyzed a set of galaxies detected by the JWST and found they might be older than the current models of our universe suggest, hinting at new discoveries and insights about the early universe.
As we continue to explore the cosmos with the JWST, we are peering further back in time, uncovering the mysteries of the earliest stars and galaxies and shedding light on the formation of our universe. The JWST's capabilities represent a significant step forward in our understanding of the cosmos and our place within it.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) utilizes science and technology to advance space-and-astronomy, with its large primary mirror and infrared observing capabilities allowing it to observe objects that are billions of light-years away, shedding light on the earliest stars and galaxies formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. This advancement in astronomical technology represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the cosmos and our place within it.
