A Telescope That Could See The First Christmas Star

WEBB in Space

While you might’ve of been cozying up with loved ones, NASA is making history. Today, on December 25, 2021, at 7:20 a.m. ET, James Webb telescope successfully launched into space.

Webb has a powerful $9 billion infrared telescope that’s hailed as the greatest telescope because it can see parts of the universe never seen before since the supermassive event (the Big Bang).

Launching such a sophisticated telescope (that can see the first star in the universe) was no easy feat.

It took many decades, thousands of talented scientists, engineers, and researchers, and a lot of coffee – well, our team guessed that since we need coffee to do anything – and many delays to get Webb into space.

The reason for so many setbacks is that Webb is like a transformer and will unfurl in space. So, to design it and launch it was a huge undertaking.

Though through perseverance, Webb traveled into space on top of an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.

Here’s something that piqued our interest and it might do the same for you.

Webb launched at an odd angle. It turns out that L2–the second Lagrangian point–is the exact point where, in the Earth-sun relationship, gravitational forces and movement are balanced. So, Webb can chill and “hover” easily to its destination to the edges of our universe.

If you want to get more involved, then add #UnfoldTheUniverse to your next post and watch where it is in our cosmos in real time.