The James Webb Space Telescope, also called Webb or JWST, is a large,
space-based observatory, optimized for infrared wavelengths, which will
complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope. It
will have longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity. The
longer wavelengths enable Webb to look further back in time to find the
first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, and to peer inside dust
clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming today.
The
telescope will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in
October of 2018.
JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade,
serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study 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.
JWST was formerly known as the "Next
Generation Space Telescope" it was renamed in Sept. 2002 after a
former NASA administrator, James Webb.
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