Agency officials said the telescope’s main mirror James Webb NASA’s space agency is now fully aligned, with the telescope team now predicting that the telescope’s optical performance will be able to meet or exceed the scientific goals for which the observatory is built.
The team completed the alignment phase known as “micro staging” on March 11, and with the micro-staging phase complete, the team aligned the entire telescope’s primary imager, the near-infrared camera, with the observatory’s mirrors, said Ritva Keski-Koha, deputy director of the optical telescope element for Webb at NASA Goddard: “We aligned the telescope and focused it entirely on a star, and the performance was above spec. We’re excited regarding what this means for science,” “We now know we built the right telescope.”
“At this primary stage of operation of the Webb’s optical telescope element, every optical parameter checked and tested performs to or exceeds expectations,” NASA added in the statement. Web. The observatory is able to successfully collect light from distant objects and deliver it to its devices without a problem.
During the alignment process, Webb snapped an image that also shows galaxies and stars in the background. At the start of the alignment process in January, the telescope was providing 18 individual images of the star, HD 84406, which scientists described as a very “boring star” in our Milky Way, Space reported. In the 18 individual images, each of the primary mirror parts was a telescope on its own, but the new image released Wednesday shows a bright amber-colored star emitting streams of light across the universe.
Even more intriguing than the star itself is its background, the report said, as it reveals dozens of dots and dots – each a distant galaxy that was previously elusive. In the next six weeks, Webb’s team will align the telescope to a near-infrared spectrometer, the report said. , mid-infrared device, near-infrared imaging and non-slit spectrum.
“The team is on track to complete all aspects of the optical telescope element alignment by early May, if not sooner, before moving on to approximately two months of scientific instrument preparations,” NASA said. Webb is the world’s premier space science observatory and, once fully operational, will help solve the mysteries of our solar system, look beyond the distant worlds around other stars, and explore the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
