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Klaus Pontoppidan

4 Jan, 4 tweets, 2 min read

https://twitter.com/nasawebb/status/1478412564983959553

I think it is time to really wrap our heads around the notion that we may soon have a fully operational giant infrared space telescope. #JWST

https://twitter.com/nasawebb/status/1478412564983959553

Of course, there are still critical activities remaining, and much work to do. We are not there yet!

But for those of us who have been preparing for so long, and for those who have kept smiling and trucking through the delays and jokes, this feels like a very special day.

@NASAWebb

Folks, don’t give up on your dreams. They do sometimes come true. @NASAWebb @ESA_Webb

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Klaus Pontoppidan

@pontoppi

7 Jan

🧵One of my very favorite #JWST science stories concerns the mirror gold. This seem like a good time to tell it. As with all good stories, it has been told before, but I think it is worth a rant. And at the end, there will be a twist. 1/

Take another look at that mirror, now collecting light from universe. It is coated in 48 grams of the purest gold, protected by another thin layer of glass. The gold of Webb will help us understand its own cosmic origins. 2/

To me, this is a realization of Carl Sagan's words, "we are a way for the cosmos to know itself". #JWST's gold, shaped by humans, will gather light radiated by its own formation, billions of years ago. 3/

Read 24 tweets

Klaus Pontoppidan

@pontoppi

30 Dec 21

Why does #JWST have to be colder than liquid nitrogen? The entire spacecraft is designed around it! So it has to be really important, right? The sunshield deployments over the next couple of days are critical steps needed to get there. Ok, time for another nerdy thread. 1/13

The temperature of the primary mirror is the first thing that determines how faint objects can be detected in the infrared. Sure, size matters greatly if the mirror is cold. But if it's warm, the sensitivity gained from the big mirror is out the window. 2/13

All normal matter (rocks, air, dogs, snow, etc.) emits light on its own according to its temperature. This is a really basic property of nature. Hotter = more light, bluer light. Cooler = less light, redder light. 3/13

Read 13 tweets

Klaus Pontoppidan

@pontoppi

29 Dec 21

https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1476194840018890756

🧵Great to see the announcement of the #JWST mid course correction analysis! Plenty of fuel to get through many years of science. It can’t be emphasized enough that science takes time to mature. 1/n

https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1476194840018890756

When something new and exciting is discovered in one year, it takes time to understand. Often we find that we need more observations, and those can take another year or more to get! 2/n

If a mission is too short, it will likely not be able to do some of the most exciting science. 3/n

Read 5 tweets

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