Let There Be Water

Water, water, everywhere on Earth; is there a drop to drink anywhere else in the galaxy? According to the James Webb Telescope, signs point to yes.

“WASP-18 b, seen in an artist concept, is a gas giant exoplanet 10 times more massive than Jupiter that orbits its star in just 23 hours. Researchers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study the planet as it moved behind its star. Temperatures there reach 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,700 C).” Artist Illustration Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (K. Miller/IPAC)

For those who haven’t been breathlessly following its progress, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, space-based observatory that was designed to be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Since its triumphant launch on Christmas Day 2022, Webb has been wowing scientists and amateur stargazers with astounding new images of the cosmos.

Named after former NASA administrator James E. Webb, the JWST is a collaborative project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

The primary goal of the James Webb Space Telescope is to observe the universe in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared light is longer in wavelength than visible light and can penetrate dust clouds, allowing astronomers to study objects and phenomena that are otherwise obscured or difficult to observe with other telescopes.

The telescope aims to study the formation and evolution of the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, providing insights into the early universe.

Since its launch, the JWST has been busily investigating the atmospheres of exoplanets, searching for signs of habitability or the presence of key…