A Mirror Milestone, part 2
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 23, 2012
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I recently blogged about the first two flight primary mirror segments for the James Webb Space Telescope arriving at NASA Goddard. I have new pics to share, that show the mirror segments being inspected after their arrival. I really do think these golden mirrors are beautiful!
Want to see a talk by Nobel Laureate Dr. John Mather?
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 5, 2012
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Dr. John Mather is NASA’s resident Nobel Laureate and he’s currently a project scientist on the James Webb Space Telescope. If you’d like to learn more about JWST and why it is being engineered the way it is, then tune into his talk on Tuesday October 9th at 1pm EDT … Continue Reading →
A Mirror Milestone
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 28, 2012
- 1 Comment
The James Webb Space Telescope, the scientific successor to the Hubble, will be the most powerful space telescope yet! This is partly due to Webb’s enormous primary mirror, which will have 18 segments that will work together as one. The flight primary mirror segments were recently completed, which means they … Continue Reading →
Infrared: Beyond the Visible
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 26, 2012
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As many of you know, aside from Blueshift, I work on the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be the successor the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s not a replacement, partly because Hubble isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but also because the Webb is primarily an infrared telescope. Astronomers use something … Continue Reading →
Ask a Nobel Laureate about James Webb Space Telescope science!
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 24, 2012
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Got a burning question about the science the James Webb Space Telescope will do? Because we’ve had some big news at NASA Goddard recently with JWST’s first two flight mirrors arriving to our cleanroom here, we’re celebrating! There will be a special tweet-chat Tuesday, September 25th from 2-3pm EDT with … Continue Reading →
Try It At Home: Life Cycle of a Massive Star Activity
- By Maggie Masetti
- September 13, 2012
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Stars and planets form in the dark, inside vast, cold clouds of gas and dust. The James Webb Space Telescope’s large mirror and infrared sensitivity will let astronomers peer inside dusty knots where the youngest stars and planets are forming. The Webb telescope project has developed a bookmark and an … Continue Reading →
Try It At Home: Build-It-Yourself: Satellite launches!
- By Maggie Masetti
- July 18, 2012
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I wanted to thank all you Blueshift readers (especially a few of our Facebook followers) who were really helpful at offering me feedback for my new game. We’ve made a bunch of changes and released the final result! If you played an earlier version, please give the latest one a … Continue Reading →
Gorgeous new images of James Webb Space Telescope hardware being readied for testing.
- By Maggie Masetti
- April 13, 2012
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These brand-new photos show a critical piece of James Webb Space Telescope hardware being hoisted with a crane into NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s giant thermal vacuum chamber (called the Space Environment Simulator, or SES) to be tested to withstand the cold temperatures of space. The hardware in question is … Continue Reading →
Try It At Home: Build-It-Yourself: Satellite!
- By Maggie Masetti
- April 2, 2012
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We’re offering you, our Blueshift readers, the exclusive chance to try out a new game, where you get to be the scientist! The game allows you to build your own satellite. First choose what science your satellite will be used to study, and then decide what wavelengths, instruments and mirrors … Continue Reading →
Try It At Home: Scope It Out game
- By Maggie Masetti
- January 13, 2012
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Curious about why the James Webb Space Telescope doesn’t look like Hubble, or most telescopes you are familiar with? Curious about the differences between reflector and refractor telescopes? This game will teach you the basics of how telescopes work and compare a simple telescope to Webb and to Hubble. You’ll … Continue Reading →
