The secret behind the world's largest space telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope's view allows scientists to find answers to questions that haven't even been asked yet.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched into orbit in December 2021, is one of the groundbreaking scientific works, bringing things that humans have never known in the field of astronomy.

Simulation image of hexagonal mirrors on the James Webb Space Telescope (Photo: NASA).

According to Scitech Daily, the secret that makes JWST unique, which no other telescope has, lies in the mirror made up of 18 individual hexagonal segments.

These segments can be aligned so precisely that they can function as a single unit.

According to Dr. Marcio B. Meléndez, an astrophysicist who worked on the James Webb development project, they went through a complex alignment process to get the mirrors on the telescope into the right position.

This process takes nearly three months after James Webb is put into orbit, and will require constant adjustments to meet its scientific goals. So the success of JWST depends not only on the construction, but also on the engineers working on the project, as they continue to monitor and adjust the instrument.

"Due to the influence of many factors such as temperature variations and so-called 'tilt' events, JWST requires a lifetime maintenance program ," said Dr. Marcio B. Meléndez.

Accordingly, the JWST project development team will always have to adjust James Webb's mirrors to keep it in ideal condition.

After each observation, the project team measured the stability of the instrument, known as 'vibration .' They then adjusted the sensors to account for this vibration, effectively 'locking on to the target.'

JWST operates in a tight orbit around a point in space called Lagrange 2, or L2 . It is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Despite the distance and communication challenges, the project team still has to ensure near-absolute precision in all operations of the device.

According to the share, to ensure overall optical performance, James Webb needs to stabilize its flight trajectory with deviations no greater than the thickness of a human hair, or about a few nanometers.

"With a rigorous and extremely precise overall program, we are always on standby and ready for JWST to ensure the highest level of optical performance, aiming to explore the mysteries hidden behind the universe ," the project representative shared.

James Webb Space Telescope before being launched into orbit (Photo: NASA).

One of the biggest differences between Hubble and James Webb is how far back in time they can observe.

Specifically, Hubble can only see far into the universe . This process is essentially observing backwards to a time in the past - because of the time it takes for light to travel. Through Hubble, experts can observe the formation of the first galaxies - about 1 billion years after the Big Bang.

But James Webb is much more powerful, able to observe from just 0.3 billion years after the Big Bang.

The director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) once said: "JWST will record images so precise that we can distinguish whether a planet is habitable or not."

"In addition, the unprecedented view of the universe from the telescope's perspective will allow scientists to find answers to questions that have not even been asked yet ."