In 1989, when engineers were trying to make a new and modern telescope to see into space, much of the technology they needed to build it didn’t even exist yet. Ultimately, there were 10 new technologies that they needed to create, in order to build what would be the James Webb Space Telescope. This is an infrared telescope. As an infrared telescope, it sheds heat, so they needed to find a way to keep the temperature of its instruments at absolute zero.
Key Takeaways:
- The James Webb Telescope is the culmination of decades of hard work and design.
- Since the telescope uses infrared light to see, it had to be studied in cold conditions.
- The scientists and engineers had to come up with a number of ingenious solutions to complete the testing.
“Webb is an infrared telescope, and since infrared radiation is shed as heat, the telescope’s instruments had to be kept close to absolute zero, the coldest temperature possible in the universe.”
Read more: https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-engineering-marvels
Reference:
- Space.com (Website)
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