The James Webb Space Telescope is expected to be sent in to the space in the next year and astronomers think that this giant telescope humanities best hope of discovering life beyond Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the replacement or successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and is way more powerful than the Hubble.
The JWST will help us to take a further view into the space, as well as more surely measure the content of H2O, carbon dioxide (CO2) and other vital gears in the atmosphere of an exo-planet. It will tell scientists much more about the size and their distance between their host stars, which is very significant feature of searching for Earth-like planets in Universe.
The launch of JWST is planned in the next year; astronomers consider that it is now a matter of time before extraterrestrial life is finally exposed.
Structure of the James Webb Space Telescope
Matt Mountain, director and Webb telescope engineer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STSI) in Baltimore, said: “What we didn't recognize five years ago is that possibly 10 to 20% of stars all over the place have Earth-size planets in the habitable zone. It's within our grip to pull off a finding that will transform the world forever. It is going to take a permanent partnership between NASA, technology, science, the US and worldwide space activities, as demonstrated by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to construct the next bridge to humankind's future. Just visualize the moment, when we discover potential signs of life. Imagine the instant when the Earth wakes up and the human race becomes conscious that its lengthy loneliness in time and space may be ended - the opportunity we are no longer alone in the Cosmos.”
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will get a quicker and a closer look at the TRAPPIST-1 system
Yet, the £6 billion telescope is likely to remain in space for just five years, so its junior, Hubble, is already selecting planets for the newcomer telescope to inspect as scientists and astronomers face a race contrary to time, Kevin Stevenson at the University of Chicago (UOC) told New Scientist.
Why is the expected life of this telescope envisioned to only be 5 years in orbit? Seems like an incredible investment for such a short period...
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