Download The James Webb Space Telescope

Resource Guide
The James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope
A cosmic time machine,
gazing into the past,
seeing in a light
invisible to human eyes.
Join Academy-nominated
for planets and possible signs of life around
distant stars.
filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn on
“Into the Unknown: The James Webb Space
Telescope” takes viewers on a 40-minute journey
of discovery, via the story of Webb and the people
behind the mission. On this journey, viewers
experience the revolutionary technology of the
Webb telescope through the eyes of the people
involved in the project – from engineers in bunny
suits and clean rooms, to astrophysicists speculating
about what they hope to discover. These individuals,
from diverse backgrounds, serve as guides to
learning about Webb’s design, construction, and
anticipated discoveries.
a journey of discovery…
THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE,
scheduled to launch in 2018, is NASA’s next orbiting
observatory and the successor to the Hubble Space
Telescope. Orbiting far beyond Earth’s moon, Webb
will detect infrared radiation and be capable of seeing
in that wavelength as well as Hubble sees
in visible light. Scientists and engineers have been
piecing Webb together, creating through cuttingedge technology, an observatory that not only
withstands intense cold but uses it to its advantage;
an observatory that folds up inside a rocket for
launch and unfurls like a butterfly opening its wings
upon nearing its orbit.
“Into the Unknown,” a film by Nathaniel Kahn,
was produced by Crazy Boat Pictures
in association with the Space Telescope Science
Institute (STScI) and the Northrop Grumman
Foundation. The project includes a collection of
freely available education materials produced by
STScI’s Office of Public Outreach. These materials,
outlined in this guide around two themes, are
designed to bring the story of the Webb telescope
and the insights of the film to students and
educators across the nation.
Images are screenshots from the film
The James Webb Space Telescope will help
reveal the answers to some of astronomy’s biggest
mysteries. It will probe deeper into space and farther
back in time than ever before, image the very first
stars and galaxies in the universe, and search
ONLINE ACTIVITY:
SIMPLE PAPER MODEL OF THE
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE
TELESCOPES FROM THE
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE
LITHOGRAPH
GROUND UP
Introduce students to JWST while
Features an artist’s illustration of the
Trace the history of telescope
reinforcing skills in modeling and scale.
Webb telescope on the front and
development – from Galileo’s first look
informational text on the back. Includes
at the stars to modern observatories.
an inquiry-based activity sheet.
Why Space Telescopes?
From Earth, our vision of the heavens is blurred by an ocean of air
that smears and scatters starlight. Space telescopes are above
Earth’s atmosphere and help us see the universe more clearly.
STAR WITNESS NEWS
Standards-based, science-content readings for upper elementary and middle
school students – available in web-based and hardcopy format. Accompanied by
educator guides.
Read an overview of the Webb telescope
Get more information about Webb’s
Learn about the role of space
in “The James Webb Space Telescope:
science objectives in “The James Webb
telescopes in exoplanet discoveries in
A Vision for the Future.”
Space Telescope: Science on the Edge.”
“20 Years of Exoplanets: The Search for
Worlds Beyond.”
COSMIC CONCEPTS
BACKGROUND MATERIALS
Learn about the electromagnetic
The following resources provide additional background about space telescopes. They
spectrum, infrared light, and space
can be used as an information source for student questions, research projects, or to
telescopes with this series of short,
support review activities and group discussions.
one-topic videos. Perfect for on-demand
reference usage by all types of learners.
“MinutePhysics: Why Do We Put
“Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered: The Future
Telescopes in Space?”: A short,
of Space Astronomy”: Explains the need
ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
animated feature developed by
for a high-resolution, infrared observatory
This video provides an overview
MinutePhysics in collaboration with
for studying the universe, and provides
of the electromagnetic spectrum and
STScI. It provides an overview of
an overview of how Webb will extend
highlights both visible and invisible
the challenges presented by Earth’s
Hubble’s scientific findings.
wavelengths of light.
atmosphere in studying the universe
and the need for space telescopes in
overcoming those challenges.
INFRARED LIGHT
This video illustrates how infrared
observations have numerous applications
in both astronomy and everyday life.
ADVANTAGES OF
SPACE TELESCOPES
This video provides an overview of the
advantages of space-based astronomy.
Scale
of the
Universe
The universe is
unimaginably large
STAR WITNESS NEWS:
THE HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD
Standards-based, science-content
LITHOGRAPH
readings for upper elementary and middle
Features an image of the Hubble Ultra
school students – available in web-based
Deep Field – the deepest visible-light
and hardcopy format. Accompanied by
observation of the early universe – on the
educator guides.
front, and informational text on the back.
• Discover the vastness of space
Includes an inquiry-based activity sheet.
and how galaxies change over time in
“The Hubble Space Telescope: Time
Machine to the Galaxies.”
and unimaginably
• Learn how astronomers are using the
old. All of human
“natural zoom lens” to search for galaxies
history is but a tiny
blip in the history of
gravity of massive galaxy clusters as a
near the dawn of time in “Frontier Fields:
Hubble Goes Deep.”
MULTIMEDIA: HUBBLE – THE
INCREDIBLE TIME MACHINE
Some of the Hubble Space Telescope’s
most memorable images have been of
the vastness of space and the early days
of the universe. This video shows how
the universe.
Hubble has been able to give us a glimpse
of a cosmos in its formative years with
deep-field images.
ONLINE ACTIVITY: HUBBLE DEEP
FIELD ACADEMY
Invites students to examine the Hubble
Deep Field image and simulate the
process used by astronomers to count,
classify, and identify objects in the image.
Students also estimate the objects’
distances from Earth.
BACKGROUND MATERIALS
The following resources provide
additional background about the universe.
They can be used as an information
source for student questions, research
projects, or to support review activities
and group discussions.
“Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered: Deep
Universe”: Provides an overview of some
of the most distant galaxies Hubble has
ever seen, and explains why, when we
look at the most distant objects in the
universe, we are also seeing the cosmos’
earliest objects.
“Hubble’s Views of the Deep Universe”:
A retrospective of Hubble’s contributions
to the investigation of the distant universe
using images known as the deep fields.
These deep fields have given astronomers
unprecedented access to understanding
Find resources like these, and more,
at Amazing Space: amazingspace.org
how galaxies form and develop over
billions of years.
“Edwin Hubble Expands Our View of the
Amazing Space is an award-winning website that includes a comprehensive collection
Universe”: A blog post that chronicles
of standards-based science education materials – all with a new design and improved
how astronomer Edwin Hubble helped
navigation. The updated site is accessible from desktops and tablets. It also includes
change our understanding of the universe
integrated social media for sharing all of your favorite resources and activities. The film
by proving the existence of other galaxies
project webpage and interactive resource guide can be found at http://amazing-space-
beyond our own Milky Way.
stem.stsci.edu/jwst-film.
MIRROR TYPE:
Segmented parabolic reflector
NUMBER OF MIRROR SEGMENTS:
18, made of beryllium and coated with a
thin layer of gold
MIRROR WIDTH:
21.6 feet (6.5 meters) at its widest point
SUNSHIELD:
Tennis-court-sized, protects Webb from
light and heat from the sun and Earth
SUNSHIELD SIZE:
70 by 48 feet (21.2 by 14.6 meters)
OPERATING TEMPERATURE:
–387.7 degrees Fahrenheit
(40 Kelvins; –233.2 degrees Celsius)
PLANNED LAUNCH:
2018 via an Ariane 5 rocket, provided by
the European Space Agency
LAUNCH SITE:
The Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG)
in Kourou, French Guiana
LOCATION:
Orbiting the sun at about 940,000 miles
(1.5 million kilometers) from Earth at the
Second Lagrange Point (L2)
INSTRUMENTS:
Webb will have four science instruments.
The Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam)
and the Near-Infrared Spectrograph
(NIRSpec) are two instruments that will
detect near-infrared light.
The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) will
observe mid-infrared light. The Fine
Guidance Sensor/Near-Infrared Imager
and Slitless Spectrograph (FGS and
NIRISS) will help point the telescope and
detect near-infrared light.
Webb Telescope
Quick Facts
FAQs
Space
Telescopes
with a 10-year goal. To
also will closely examine com-
will have a tennis court-sized
insure the five-year mission,
ets, which are made of mate-
sunshield to protect it from
NASA has engineered the
rial left over from the forma-
the infrared glow of the sun
observatory so that all critical
tion of the planets. Comets
and Earth.
subsystems have a backup
are one possible supplier of
or will degrade gracefully with
the Earth’s water, seeding
age. For instance, the Near-
the planet with water vapor
Infrared Camera has two
through millions of impacts
identical camera systems so
over billions of years. Webb
that the optical quality can be
will help confirm or dismiss
maintained even if one fails.
this theory by examining
Webb will also contain
maneuvers. As with Hubble,
Chandra, and Spitzer, the
Space Telescope?
Webb science and operations
The James Webb Space
center has the ability to
Telescope (JWST) is an orbit-
change the operations of the
ing telescope that will collect
observatory to maximize its
infrared light from celestial
scientific potential as it ages.
objects. JWST is the scienSpace Telescope. Unlike
What are some things the
Hubble, JWST will be placed
Webb telescope will study
approximately 940,000 miles
or observe?
(1.5 million kilometers) from
Webb will look for the first
Earth and cannot be serviced
galaxies, study star birth and
by astronauts.
planet formation, and look
for other planets that might
harbor life. It is also expected
What is the Hubble Space
that Webb will be used to
Telescope?
make discoveries in the area
The Hubble Space Telescope
of stellar evolution by detect-
is an orbiting telescope that
ing “failed stars” called brown
collects light from celestial
dwarfs and increase our
objects in visible, near-
understanding of star-forming
ultraviolet, and near-infrared
regions in other galaxies.
wavelengths. The telescope’s
Webb will investigate the
primary mirror is 2.4 meters (8
nature of Jupiter-like planets
feet) wide. It orbits the Earth
in other solar systems to help
about every 96 minutes and is
astronomers determine how
powered by sunlight collected
their formation might affect
with its two solar arrays.
the creation of rocky planets
like Earth.
serviced like Hubble?
At its distant orbit, Webb is
much too far from Earth to
be serviced. Webb’s science
mission length is five years
Why are telescopes placed
in space?
Space telescopes can see
objects more clearly because
they are above the blurring
effect of Earth’s atmosphere.
Earth’s atmosphere allows
visible light and radio waves
tific successor to the Hubble
light, which is blurred by
Earth’s atmosphere, infrared
light is absorbed by many of
the components of Earth’s
atmosphere, so it never
reaches the ground. Water
vapor, in particular, absorbs
many wavelengths of infra-
enough fuel for 10 years of
What is the James Webb
Can the Webb telescope be
comets’ composition.
Also, in contrast to visible
to pass through but blocks
out most other radiation,
including X-rays and gamma
rays. Radiation, such as that
red light. An astronomer, for
example, would have a hard
time using a ground-based infrared telescope to search for
water vapor (an indication of
habitability) in the atmosphere
of an extrasolar planet. Most
of the infrared light from that
planet would not reach the
telescope because the water
vapor in Earth’s atmosphere
would absorb it.
from infrared or ultraviolet
rays, is partially blocked.
By placing telescopes in
space, astronomy is free of
the distorting and shielding
effects of the Earth’s
atmosphere.
Why do astronomers need
infrared telescopes?
An infrared telescope can
allow astronomers to look
back at the very early
universe, when the first
galaxies formed. Those
Why are infrared telescopes
placed in space?
Although there are many
infrared telescopes on Earth,
the best place to do infrared astronomy is in space.
Earth’s atmosphere glows
brightly in infrared light,
making it difficult to accurately measure light from faint
Closer to home, Webb will
celestial infrared objects. So
study the atmospheres of
an infrared telescope needs
solar system planets such
to be as far away from Earth
as Mars. The telescope will
as possible and shielded from
observe moons, including Ti-
Earth’s glow. The James
tan, to analyze their chemical
Webb Space Telescope will
makeup. The Webb telescope
be placed at the L2 point and
galaxies can only be seen in
infrared light. Infrared light
also can be used to look
through dust to discover
objects that cannot be
seen in visible light. For
example, infrared light allows
astronomers to peer into
clouds surrounding new stars
to find emerging planets. An
infrared telescope also may
allow astronomers to look at
the atmosphere of planets
to detect the gases (carbon
dioxide, methane, and
water vapor) that signal the
possibility of life.
Light & Color
What is the electromagnetic
spectrum?
The electromagnetic
spectrum consists of the
entire range of wavelengths
of electromagnetic radiation,
or frequency of light coming
light-years away. This is the
gather as much light as pos-
from objects in the universe,
extent of the “observable uni-
sible. Objects can be very far
we can learn something
verse,” but the entire universe
away and appear faint to us
about their nature. Since we
is probably much larger. It
due to the vast distances over
are not able to travel to a
could even extend infinitely in
which the light must travel,
star or take samples from a
all directions.
and/or objects can lie close
galaxy, we must depend on
to us and be faint because
they don’t give off much light.
electromagnetic radiation to
carry information to us from
In what sense is the
So “deep” doesn’t neces-
distant objects in space.
universe expanding?
sarily mean far. However, in
microwaves, infrared light,
We live in an expanding uni-
the case of the Hubble Deep
visible light, ultraviolet
verse. All of the galaxies (vast
Fields (HDFs) and the Hubble
collections of stars similar to,
Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), deep
but outside of, our own Milky
does mean far away because
Way galaxy) that populate
the images were taken in
the universe – including our
areas that we know have few
Milky Way – are moving away
nearby stars.
including radio waves,
light, X-rays, and gamma
rays. It is a continuum of
The Universe
wavelengths from zero to
infinity. We name regions
of the spectrum rather
arbitrarily, but the names
give us a general sense of
the energy; for example,
ultraviolet light has shorter
wavelengths than radio light.
The only region in the entire
electromagnetic spectrum
that our eyes are sensitive to
is the visible region.
How old is the universe?
The best available information
indicates that the age of
the universe is about 13.8
billion years. Hubble has
helped to measure the age
of the universe using two
different methods. The first
method involves measuring
the speeds and distances of
galaxies. Because all of the
galaxies in the universe are
generally moving apart, we
from each other. How quickly
galaxies move away from one
another depends on their
Why do astronomers study
relative distance. From our
distant galaxies if they are
viewpoint, the farther away
faint and difficult to ob-
another galaxy is, the faster it
serve?
moves away from us. This is
When we study astronomical
called the Hubble Law (after
objects, we are actually look-
the American astronomer Ed-
ing back in time. Light from
win Hubble, who discovered
the sun takes eight minutes
the cosmic expansion in the
to reach Earth. The light we
late 1920s from the 100-inch
see today from the next near-
Hooker Telescope on Mount
est star was emitted about
Wilson near Pasadena, CA).
four years ago. Light from the
What is infrared light?
infer that they must all have
Infrared light is the part of
been much closer together
the electromagnetic spectrum
sometime in the past.
that has slightly lower energy
Knowing the current speeds
than visible light, but is not
and distances to galaxies,
Although we see galaxies
visible to the human eye.
coupled with the rate at which
moving away from us in all
Just as there are low-pitched
the universe is accelerating,
directions, this does not
sounds that cannot be heard,
allows us to calculate how
mean that our galaxy is in
there is low-energy light
long it took for them to reach
the center of some sort of
that cannot be seen. Some
their current locations. The
explosion; observers in other
infrared light can be detected
second method involves
galaxies would see the same
as the heat from a fire or a
measuring the ages of the
thing. It only means that the
light bulb.
oldest star clusters.
space between all galaxies is
growing larger.
How big is the universe?
What information can light
reveal about the universe
and celestial objects?
Electromagnetic radiation,
or light, is a form of energy. Visible light is a narrow
range of wavelengths of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
By measuring the wavelength
We can observe only a portion of the entire universe.
Because the universe is only
about 13.8 billion years old,
light has only had that many
years to travel through it.
Therefore, the most distant
regions of the universe we
can see are about 13.8 billion
nearest galaxy, like Andromeda, takes over 2 million years
to reach us. That is, we see
Andromeda as it appeared
more than 2 million years ago.
Observations of distant galaxies show us what the universe
looked like at an earlier time
in the history of the universe.
By studying the properties of
galaxies at different epochs,
we can map the evolution of
What is a deep field?
In astronomical terms, a deep
field is a long-exposure observation taken to view very
faint objects. Light from these
objects is collected over a
large period of time, so the
detectors have a chance to
the universe.
We are the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI),
established by NASA to operate the Hubble Space Telescope
and Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope.
We are part of AURA, the Association of Universities for Research
in Astronomy, a research consortium that also operates
Kitt Peak National Observatory, Cerro Tololo Inter-American
Observatory, and the Gemini Observatories.
STScI’s Office of Public Outreach supports outreach events as
well as produces news releases, websites, and products
and programs for the education community, such as the ones
listed in this guide. To access these resources and more, visit:
Amazing Space: http://amazingspace.org
HubbleSite: http://hubblesite.org
James Webb Space Telescope: http://webbtelescope.org
“Into the Unknown: The James Webb Space Telescope,” a film by Nathaniel Kahn,
was produced by Crazy Boat Pictures in association with the Space Telescope Science
Institute (STScI) and the Northrop Grumman Foundation.
Space Telescope Education Program
Promoting the science and majestic beauty
of the universe to the education community.
Space Telescope Science Institute
3700 San Martin Drive
Baltimore, MD 21218
Tel: 410 -338- 4700
Fax: 410 -338- 4579
email: [email protected]