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Successfully, James Webb, the largest and most powerful space telescope in the world, arrived this Monday, January 24, at its observation post 1.5 million kilometers away from planet Earth, a month after taking off on a mission to contemplate the secrets of the universe.
After its launch on December 25, the James Webb Space Telescope has reached its final orbit, from where it will be able to observe the first galaxies in the universe. This has been confirmed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA in English) this Monday, January 24.
The telescope, designed to give the world an unprecedented view of the universe, successfully reached its gravitational parking spot in orbit around the Sun, after traveling 1.5 million km.
NASA reported that James Webb is located in a position of orbital stability between Earth and the Sun known as Lagrange Point Two, or L2. The space mission team used radio signals to confirm that Webb was “inserted” into an orbital loop around L2.
One of the most expensive scientific equipment ever built
Around 19:00 GMT on Monday, January 24, the space telescope activated its thrusters to reach Lagrange Point Two. “Welcome home, Webb!” NASA chief Bill Nelson said in a press release.
“We have come one step closer to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. And I can’t wait to see the first new images of the universe from the Webb telescope this summer!
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Eric Smith, NASA Webb Program Scientist, explained that the combined pull of the Sun and Earth on L2 will hold the telescope in place, so little additional rocket thrust is needed to keep Webb from drifting.
However, the James Webb will not be exactly at the L2 point but will oscillate around it as a kind of “halo” at a distance similar to that of the Earth and the Moon, in a period of six months.
From the operations center in the United States, the main mirror of the telescope has begun to be adjusted, 6.5 meters wide, and made up of a matrix of 18 hexagonal segments of beryllium metal and coated with gold.
Earlier this month, the Webb mission on Earth managed to unfold the telescope’s mirror that will allow it to receive the radiation emitted by the first stars and galaxies, formed more than 13.4 billion years ago, less than 400 million years after the Big Bang.
The mirrors of the James Webb, which costs about $10 billion, still need to be aligned and the infrared detectors cooled down sufficiently before science observations can begin and the first images are revealed between June and July this year.
The device’s infrared detectors will make it possible to see ancient space objects as well as interstellar dust clouds that absorb starlight. In addition, they will serve to explore the exoplanets that orbit around stars other than the Sun and will examine their atmosphere, in search of conditions conducive to the appearance of life.
With Reuters and AFP
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