James Webb Phone Home

The James Webb Space Telescope will soon be sending back cosmic selfies. What will we see?

Illustration showing what exoplanet GJ 1214 b could look like based on current information. GJ 1214 b, a warm sub-Neptune-sized exoplanet roughly 48 light-years from Earth, is one of the most studied exoplanets in the galaxy. Previous spectroscopic observations indicate that the planet is shrouded in aerosols (clouds or haze), which have thus far made it impossible to determine the composition of gases that make up its thick atmosphere. (Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and D. Player (STScI))

The James Webb Space Telescope launched successfully on Christmas Day 2021 to great fanfare.

Weeks later, Hubble’s heir apparent avoided its predecessor’s fate when it successfully deployed and unfurled its main mirror. The honeycomb-like confection of intricately laced parts went into place perfectly. Surviving as it did the rigors of launch and space was a minor Christmas miracle.

James Webb will allow humanity to peer further into space and back in time than ever before. Scientists hope to find answers, and many new questions, out in the furthest reaches of the universe.

James Webb will also be looking at Earth’s nearest neighbors.

This photo of Jupiter, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, was snapped when the planet was comparatively close to Earth, at a distance of 415 million miles. Credits: NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (NASA Goddard)

While astronomers have been studying nearby planets like Jupiter and Saturn for thousands of years, modern scientists still have many unanswered questions.

Some of those questions center on Jupiter and its very intriguing moons.

“NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the most ambitious and complex space observatory ever built, will use its unparalleled infrared…