Thanks to Canada’s involvement in the James Webb super-telescope project, researchers in the country will be able to use it exclusively 5% of the time.
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The images provided by the telescope, a real technological feat, have made it possible to give a new light to the universe. These photos, the deepest ever taken in space, were made possible by international cooperation, and in particular a Canadian-made tool.
“We have a system that seeks to point the telescope, without which no image would be possible,” and this system is a “Canadian guide,” said Erick Dupuis, director of space exploration development at the Canadian Space Agency. .
Added to this is an infrared sensor, which allows the taking of shots never before possible in the history of space imagery. “We have a Canadian scientific instrument, the NIRISS, which takes images and spectra in the infrared,” reported astrophysicist Nathalie Ouellette.
In exchange for its involvement in the manufacture and development of James Webb, Canada obtained 5% of the machine’s operating time. “Canadian astronomers will be able to decide where the telescope will look, and will be able to receive the images first to be able to analyze them and make new discoveries,” added Mr. Dupuis.
These new discoveries may for example be images of chemical compounds in the atmosphere of other planets in the universe, which might prove to be evidence of a distant life form.
Check out the full interview with Erick Dupuis in the video above.