I’ve been wondering if anyone was going to mention this amazing feat of science and engineering.
The James Webb Space Telescope has reached its new home at last
Next on the to-do list: Cool down. Straighten out. Turn everything on. Take a look around
JANUARY 24, 2022
The James Webb Space Telescope has finally arrived at its new home. After a Christmas launch and a month of unfolding and assembling itself in space, the new space observatory reached its final destination, a spot known as L2. …
WOW!!!
“During the past month, JWST has achieved amazing success and is a tribute to all the folks who spent many years and even decades to ensure mission success,” said Bill Ochs, Webb project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “We are now on the verge of aligning the mirrors, instrument activation and commissioning, and the start of wondrous and astonishing discoveries.”
https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/01/24/orbital-insertion-burn-a-success-webb-arrives-at-l2/
Nice update, that diagram blows me away, regarding the “halo” orbit of JWST around L2.
I’m assuming it’s way out of scale, unfortunately the article didn’t mention that.
If the orbit were close to that it would add an amazing parallax to its images.
Yes, I was surprised to learn that Webb will be “Orbiting” L2. I had previously assumed that Webb would Orbit the Sun while at, or near L2.
L2 is just a mathematical point. Last I learned was that you need some body with a gravitational pull in order to orbit.
Must be in Diff-Eqs or beyond. (rocket science)
Okay, but isn’t it also a very definite physical ‘point’ in space where gravitational forces balance each other out, in a way that allows satellite to “park” around that point.(?)
What I find amazing is that we have people who can accomplish these mind boggling feats, and yet back on earth we have other people who don’t have access to a working toilet.
[quote=“cuthbertj, post:6, topic:8967”]
What I find amazing is that we have people who can accomplish these mind boggling feats, and yet back on earth we have other people who don’t have access to a working toilet.
There is that.
Think about it…500 years ago there were plenty of people in abject poverty, literally not having a pot to piss in. BUT the biggest technological achievement might have been say better candles or something like that.
Now there are probably far more people, as a count, not as a percentage (but maybe percentage too) in abject poverty and yet we have the Webb telescope and computers, etc etc. To me the big question is, why are there still so many with so little despite all the advances in technology?
Unrestricted Capitalism. (keyword: “unrestricted”)
Here it is, the orbit of Webb is twice as big as our moon’s orbit.
For the rest of the story,
==========================================
Plus, First Light!
Probably comes back to our biological selves. The drive to stay alive, the drive to want more for tomorrow than you have today, vanity. Insecurity, fear and envy, power corrupts and greed and power feeds a thirst for gluttony, and other people simply don’t matter.
Here’s a flashback to 60’s enlightenment.
wiki The Territorial Imperative develops the theses originally introduced in African Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man , which was published five years earlier. In African Genesis , Ardrey posited that man originated in Africa instead of Asia, that he is driven by inherited instincts to acquire land and defend territory, and that the development of weapons was a fundamental turning point in his evolution.[2]
The Territorial Imperative further explores these ideas with a special emphasis on man’s distinct preoccupation with the concept of territory.
It goes on to elucidate the role that inherited evolutionary instinct, particularly the so-called “territorial imperative”, plays in modern human society in phenomena such as property ownership and nation building.
Thanks, That’s what I was looking for!
Mar 16, 2022
RELEASE 22-024
NASA’s Webb Reaches Alignment Milestone, Optics Working Successfully
NASA’s Webb Reaches Alignment Milestone, Optics Working Successfully - NASA
Following the completion of critical mirror alignment steps, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team expects that Webb’s optical performance will be able to meet or exceed the science goals the observatory was built to achieve.On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as “fine phasing.” At this key stage in the commissioning of Webb’s Optical Telescope Element, every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations. The team also found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb’s optical path. The observatory is able to successfully gather light from distant objects and deliver it to its instruments without issue.
While the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star at the center for alignment evaluation, Webb’s optics and NIRCam are so sensitive that the galaxies and stars seen in the background show up. At this stage of Webb’s mirror alignment, known as “fine phasing,” each of the primary mirror segments have been adjusted to produce one unified image of the same star using only the NIRCam instrument. This image of the star, which is called 2MASS J17554042+6551277, uses a red filter to optimize visual contrast.
Credits: NASA/STScI
Although there are months to go before Webb ultimately delivers its new view of the cosmos, achieving this milestone means the team is confident that Webb’s first-of-its-kind optical system is working as well as possible.
We are capable of amazing achievements,
Let’s break it down: 00:00 Intro
02:00 Final alignment image in the Large Magellanic Cloud
02:50 Magellan TV
03:38 About the image and its colors
06:36 Why are there 6 diffraction spikes in NIRCam’s image?
07:48 NIRSpec and its broken microshutters
10:10 NIRISS - Near-Infrared Imaging Slitless Spectrometer
10:57 How the Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) work
11:31 Why the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has fuzzy stars
14:02 Instrument commissioning
(early April)
It’s very Nice Article thanks.
Thank you.
Please join the conversation, what made you curious about CFI and brings you here?
Welcome “kazukopro”, looking forward to your thoughts.
Perhaps fishing for clicks to a practically empty website?
Oh lordie the last thing I need is more “chicks” in my life, my cup runneth over.
Interesting conversation, now that, I could use more of.
