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James Webb Space Telescope looks out of this world (Forwarded)



 
 
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Old January 16th 07, 11:04 PM posted to sci.astro
Andrew Yee
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Default James Webb Space Telescope looks out of this world (Forwarded)

Springer Science+Business Media Deutschland GmbH

Contact: Joan Robinson
tel +49-6221-487-8130

15 January 2007

Webb scope looks out of this world

Scientific goals and design of Hubble's successor now available online via
SpringerLink

Heidelberg -- The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the orbiting infrared
observatory designed to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, is set to
enable fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of the formation and
evolution of galaxies, stars and planetary systems. The project is led by
NASA, with major contributions from the European and Canadian Space
Agencies. The telescope is scheduled for launch in 2013 for a mission of
5-10 years. NASA's Jonathan Gardner and colleagues' comprehensive
description [1] of the scientific goals and technical design of the
observatory, which can be used by scientists throughout the world in
planning for Webb's investigations and discoveries, was recently published
in Springer's peer-reviewed journal Space Science Reviews. The article is
freely accessible online via SpringerLink through Springer's Open
Choice(TM) program (http://www.springerlink.com/content/q58315621w03/).

Lead author Jonathan Gardner, Chief of the Laboratory for Observational
Cosmology at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said: "Many of the most
important scientific results from Hubble were not anticipated before its
launch in 1990. Similarly, while this publication outlines the scientific
goals we have for Webb at this time, my hope is that Webb will make
additional discoveries that we can't even imagine now."

The JWST, named after a former NASA Administrator, will complement and
extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer
wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity. Webb's instruments
will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the
electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range. The
longer wavelengths enable JWST to look much closer to the beginning of
time and to hunt for the unobserved formation of the first galaxies, as
well as look inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are
forming today. Webb's scientific goals are split into four distinct
themes: The End of the Dark Ages - First Light and Reionization; The
Assembly of Galaxies; The Birth of Stars and Protoplanetary Systems; and
Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life.

The JWST will be launched on an Ariane 5 Enhanced Capability-A rocket into
orbit well beyond Earth's Moon, about 1.5 million km (940,000 miles) from
the Earth, at the Second Lagrange Point (L2). At that distance from
Earth, the telescope will be protected from stray light and heat, yet will
remain in an orbit that makes operations and communications easy. Just as
importantly, Earth will not obstruct the telescope's view.

The authors conclude: "Regular, competitive peer-reviewed proposal
selection will ensure that this international resource will address the
most relevant and strongly justified scientific questions, and will leave
a legacy of knowledge and discovery for future generations."

The article is available free to anyone, anywhere in the world, via
SpringerLink through the Springer Open Choice(TM) program. Open
Choice(TM) gives authors the option of publishing their articles using the
open access publishing model in exchange for payment of a basic fee.

[1] Gardner JP et al (2006). The James Webb Space Telescope. Space
Science Reviews 123(4):485-606; (DOI 10.1007/s11214-006-8315-7)

Notes to Editors

1. James E. Webb. The man whose name NASA has chosen to bestow upon the
JWST is most commonly linked to the Apollo moon program, not to science.
James E. Webb ran the space agency from February 1961 to October 1968 and
many believe that he did more for science than perhaps any other
government official and that it is only fitting that the Next Generation
Space Telescope would be named after him.

2. JWST -- an international collaboration. The James Webb Space Telescope
(JWST) is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space
Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space
Flight Centre is managing the development effort. The prime contractor is
Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. The Space Telescope Science
Institute will operate JWST after launch.

3. JWST -- general information
http://jwst.gsfc.nasa.gov

4. JWST -- fast facts
http://jwst.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts.html

5. JWST -- innovative technologies
http://jwst.gsfc.nasa.gov/technology.html


 




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