as the Phantom Galaxy. Webb’s sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms which wind outwards from the centre of this image.The James Webb Space Telescope, heralded as NASA's largest and most ambitious astronomy mission, is a game-changer in the realm of space exploration and astrophysics.
Dr. Mountain elaborated on overcoming the engineering hurdles related to the telescope's operation at extremely cold temperatures necessary for infrared observations. This included innovative techniques for manufacturing and adjusting the telescope's beryllium mirrors to function correctly at these temperatures.
“The trick there was we made them perfectly at room temperature,” Dr. Mountain shared. “We then cooled them down. We then measured all the distortions on them and warmed it back up again, and then polished the inverse distortion into the mirror so when it cooled it bent into the right shape.”Our discussion touched on the profound implications of discovering life on other planets, potentially challenging human beliefs about uniqueness and evolution.
He pointed out that when we started the JWST program exoplanets had not yet been discovered. Now, we know they’re out there and we know that every star you look up at in the sky has a planetary system.