Have you heard the buzz? 🐝
@NASAWebb’s “honeycomb”-like mirror unfolded and the telescope is fully deployed!
Like Hubble, Webb is a reflecting telescope – meaning that it gathers light using huge mirrors rather than lenses. So how do the mirrors on Hubble and Webb compare? ⬇️
Size 📏
Webb’s primary mirror stretches ~21 ft (6.5 meters) across, while Hubble’s is ~8 ft (2.4 meters) across.
That gives Webb more than six times the light collecting area than Hubble has!
Despite its larger size, Webb will deliver about the same resolution in near-infrared light as Hubble attains in visible light.
The two telescopes will be able to “double-team” their observations of objects to provide us with spectacular, broad-spectrum views!
Hubble’s primary mirror is made of one large piece of Ultra-Low Expansion Glass® that is coated with thin layers of aluminum and magnesium fluoride.
Webb’s 18 mirror segments are covered in a thin, reflective layer of gold, which reflects infrared light more efficiently.
Temperature 🥶
Hubble is optimized to observe ultraviolet & visible light, so its primary mirror doesn’t have to be as cold as Webb’s.
But to detect faint infrared light, Webb’s mirrors have to be around -364 degree F! (Image shows mirrors getting prepped for cyrogenic testing)
We’ll leave you to *reflect* on all that.
Hubble & Webb, with their complementary abilities to see across the electromagnetic spectrum, will work together to give us a more complete view of the universe.
Learn more: go.nasa.gov/3r6Jfpk
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