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NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

EXPERT REACTION: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launch

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Later this week, NASA is expected to launch the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) from a launch site in French Guyana, on the back of an Ariane 5 rocket. The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to the Hubble Telescope, which has been in operation since 1990. 

Organisation/s: CSIRO, Swinburne University of Technology, Curtin University, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), The University of Queensland, University of Sydney, Macquarie University, Australian National University, University of Western Australia, Monash University, University of New South Wales, Flinders University, University of Southern Queensland

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Expert Reaction

These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.

Monserrat (Monse) Loreto Martinez-Marin is an Astronomy PhD Student from Swinburne University of Technology.

The concept of a Telescope being able to see the beginning of the Universe was thought even before I was born, therefore as a PhD student, I feel lucky and excited to see how the work and effort of so many scientists finally is lunch to space. The 6.5 diameters primary mirror and its strategic positioning in space, will allow astronomers to get infrared data free from earth contamination sources to explore unknown stages of the Universe like the creation of the first galaxies. The success of this mission will lead to a new generation of scientific discoveries in different astronomical fields and give us a better understanding of our universe.

Last updated: 10 Jan 2022 4:10pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Dr. Nicha Leethochawalit is an ASTRO 3D Fellow, The University of Melbourne

The main characteristics of a telescope are diameter and wavelength range. A telescope with larger diameter is more sensitive to faint objects – it can collect more photons from faint sources. We need a certain ratio of the number of photons from objects of interest to the noise photons to confirm any detection. Wavelength range determines the type of information collected from objects of interest. We cannot see a broken bone without an X-ray machine. Similarly, we need near-infrared wavelengths to detect galaxies at beginning of cosmic time, and mid-infrared wavelengths to determine their compositions. In the visible to mid-infrared wavelength range, JWST’s diameter is unprecedented. It will detect the faintest and furthest source known to mankind. In addition, we will be able to observe the spectra of those early galaxies, and, for the first time, determine their age and chemical compositions.

Last updated: 24 Dec 2021 10:49pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
A/Prof Kim-Vy Tran, School of Physics, University of New South Wales

I’m most excited about the surprises that JWST will surely deliver — it’s when the universe gives us the proverbial middle finger that we make our greatest discoveries. 

Measurements that “didn’t make sense” led Einstein to the Theory of General Relativity, Vera Rubin to discover Dark Matter when studying galaxies, and the Supernova Teams to discover Dark Energy.  The unexpected will surprise, delight, puzzle, and ultimately reveal new insights that we can only dream of now.

I’m particularly excited about using JWST to study gravitational lenses where matter bends light from distant objects.  We use lenses to illuminate dark matter and study objects too faint even for JWST — here’s a helpful graphic from JWST:
        https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2019/20/4377-Image?keyword=lensing

Last updated: 24 Dec 2021 10:44pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

During the past few years as a young researcher, I have been learning about many of the current questions and challenges in Astrophysics. What I have found as a common theme in almost every one of them is that JWST will play a crucial role in proving answers and alleviating our curiosity for understanding the cosmos.

The success of the launch, deployment, and operations will be of great importance for the careers of thousands of astronomers and engineers who have invested the past couple of decades in preparation for it. But besides the importance for individuals, research groups and organisations, it will be of great significance for humanity as a whole given the magnitude of the questions it will address as well as providing answers to yet unasked questions.

Last updated: 10 Jan 2022 1:47pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Dr Claudia Lagos is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia

The community is very excited about the launching of the JWST. Colleagues of ours have been working on this for two decades! What is particularly exciting is the possibility of discovering 'unknowns' thanks to the wavelengths the JWST observes at (infrared) and its collecting area - seeing populations of galaxies we have never seen before as far back in time as we possibly can. We are hoping to observe the formation of the first galaxies, the first supermassive black holes and possibly the first stars. We are truly expecting a breakthrough in our capabilities of understanding the formation of the Universe. I am so looking forward to this - as a computational astrophysicist, we have been making predictions for what JWST will see for some years and it is now the time to test these predictions and hopefully turn those new observations into a transformational understanding of how galaxies form, and especially, how our home, the Milky Way, came to be.

Last updated: 10 Jan 2022 5:41pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

The question of how galaxies evolve is one of the most fundamental in all of astronomy. The James Webb Space Telescope will reveal how stars and gas interact to set the fate of galaxies over cosmic time. JWST will allow for observations of the youngest and most embedded stars forming in their natal clouds and will absolutely revolutionize our knowing of how and why stars form. I did my PhD research with observations of young star clusters from the Hubble Space Telescope and I'm excited for the physics we will learn over the next half decade from this next incredible space observatory!

Last updated: 10 Jan 2022 2:39pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Lisa Kewley, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D, Australian National University

The James Webb Space Telescope is by far the largest infrared telescope ever put into space. With its exquisite sensitivity, the James Webb will unveil mysteries of the universe that have previously been hidden to us. Through deep observations, James Webb will reveal the very first galaxies formed in the infant universe and how those galaxies evolved across 13 billion years of cosmic time. We will obtain an unprecedented picture of how galaxies like our Milky Way formed and evolved. We will measure how the elements responsible for life: oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, formed and evolved across 13 billion years of cosmic time. James Webb will also reveal what elements are in the atmospheres around extrasolar planets. The big questions that James Webb aims to answer are all about our origins and our place in the universe: Are we unique? Is our Earth unique? Is the Milky Way unique? What are our origins?

Last updated: 23 Dec 2021 1:25pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Brian Schmidt is the Vice-Chancellor of Australian National University and is a Nobel Laureate

I remember when I was a young astronomer back in 1996 at the annual meeting of US Astronomers where the US Astronomy community announced our desire to build a four-metre telescope to replace the Hubble Space Telescope. The NASA administrator, Dan Goldin got up and told us we needed to be bolder and that we needed an eight-metre telescope in space which we were going to build ‘faster, better, and cheaper’.  While it wasn’t faster, or cheaper – it will be a whole lot better than anything humanity has ever looked at the heavens with – allowing us to look at everything from the first stars to perhaps planets that will reveal the first signs of life beyond our planet.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 4:50pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor James Miller-Jones is the Science Director at the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research

The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope is extremely exciting for the astronomical community.

As with any space telescope, it will be unaffected by the distortions imprinted on the incoming light by the Earth’s atmosphere. Its 6.5m primary mirror not only gives it more light-gathering power than previous space telescopes, but also the ability to see in finer detail.

By observing in the infrared part of the spectrum, it is able to see through some of the gas and dust that hinders our view of forming stars and planets, or the inner regions of our own Milky Way galaxy. When we look at an object on Earth in infrared light, we gain new information; specifically which areas are hotter or cooler. Similarly, by looking at celestial objects in the infrared, we can gain new insights into the physics at work.

The James Webb Space Telescope will thereby help us understand the inflows and outflows of gas around exotic objects such as black holes, and also how these powerful cosmic engines formed and grew in the early Universe.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:23pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Jonti Horner is an astronomer and astrobiologist, and one of the architects of the Minerva-Australis exoplanet observatory, based at the University of Southern Queensland

I'm actually really looking forward to watching the James Webb launch. NASA does a fantastic job of live streaming major events like this, so I'll be sat eagerly watching everything happen on NASA Live. It's actually hard to believe that it is finally launching - there have been so many delays over the years - that it feels kind of unreal that it is finally 'all systems go'. I have colleagues who have been waiting for the launch for almost 15 years, with really exciting science questions that no other instrument humanity has ever built can answer - and I know they'll be sat watching with bated breath, and fingernails bitten to the quick, hoping that everything goes well on launch day!

James Webb is going to be an amazing tool for astronomers and I'm really excited to see what we'll be able to learn about exoplanets (alien worlds) and the history of our Solar system from the data it will gather for astronomers. From the exoplanet point of view, I'm particularly excited to see what we can learn about the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars using the telescope - whilst for the Solar System, I'm most interested to see what we'll learn about the Solar System's smaller objects - the asteroids and comets that hold the key to understanding how our planetary system formed, and evolved to become the place we know and love! There's always another secret to uncover, and it's going to be amazing to see what James Webb will reveal in the years to come!

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:22pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Associate Professor Alice Gorman is from the College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Flinders University and an internationally recognised leader in the emerging field of space archaeology

The successor of the much-loved Hubble Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is going to give us new visions of the beginning of the universe through its infrared eyes. 
 
The names of spacecraft are always interesting as they represent the values and heroes of each generation. The James Webb Telescope is named after administrator James Webb, who became the head of NASA in its third year of operation in 1961. He supported a serious scientific programme, rather than just playing Cold War politics in space. However, this has created some controversy as Webb is alleged to have been associated with discrimination against gay men and women in the space agency.  
 
The telescope also reflects the vision of another NASA champion of science. The astronomer Nancy Grace Roman was known as the ‘Mother of Hubble’. At a time when it was believed that women couldn’t do ‘hard’ science, she defied all opposition to become NASA’s Chief of Astronomy and created its space astronomy program in the 1960s. 
 
Hubble’s not gone, though. It could potentially keep operating for another couple of decades. Between them, the two space telescopes cover wavelengths from infrared to ultraviolet – the whole rainbow of the universe.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:22pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Dr Benjamin Montet is a Scientia Lecturer in the School of Physics at UNSW

JWST will provide an incredibly exciting opportunity to learn about the atmospheres of Earth-sized planets around the smallest stars.

These stars have very strong magnetic fields, and are constantly blasted by lots of ultraviolet and X-ray emission from stellar flares.

Some high-energy radiation is good, because we think that energy is probably important for enabling some of the chemical reactions that led to the beginnings of life on Earth. But too much can entirely evaporate away your planet's atmosphere, which is really bad for life! Once you lose your atmosphere it's hard to get it back.

JWST will tell us if these planets, like the TRAPPIST-1 system have atmospheres like our own, making them potentially able to support life, or are barren rocks like the Moon, with no atmosphere or hope to sustain water.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:20pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Dr Themiya Nanayakkara is an astronomer at Swinburne University of Technology studying the early Universe and he is the Australian point of contact for the James Webb Space Telescope user support.

After more than two decades of waiting, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope will be one of the most eagerly yet nervously awaited lift-offs for all space enthusiasts.

Once the telescope makes it way to the L2 orbit after manoeuvring all the complex unfolding events, it will provide us with the most detailed view of our very existence.

International collaborations led by astronomers in Swinburne will use clusters of galaxies as magnifying lenses to find the very first galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Understanding how the first stars in the Universe created light, ending the dark ages and transforming the Universe from Hydrogen and Helium to the observed complexity we see today, will be made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The telescope will find massive monster galaxies hiding behind shrouds of dust, perhaps formed so fast they challenge the very foundations of cosmology as we know it. This would provide strong observational constraints to test our theories of galaxy evolution.

The James Webb Australian Data Centre at Swinburne will combine artificial intelligence with state-of-the-art models to develop cutting edge software to analyse the wealth of data obtained by the telescope. It will also provide support for Australian astronomers to make the most efficient use of this novel space telescope to unravel the mysteries of the Universe.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:18pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

Dr Daniel Price is a Professor in the School of Physics & Astronomy at Monash University

It’s been like waiting for Christmas for 20 years. The first round of observations will be particularly special for our group at Monash as we have time awarded to image a baby planet we discovered in 2018. We’re hoping that a picture of an infant planet orbiting a young sun will prove one of the spectacular early results from James Webb.

I think every astronomer around the world will be chewing their fingernails for most of Christmas eve.

Last updated: 10 Jan 2022 4:44pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Fred Watson, AM is Astronomer-at-Large from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

Half a century ago, I was involved with the manufacture of a ‘large’ space telescope that eventually flew on a satellite named TD1A. Its mirror was 30 centimetres in diameter – a giant by the standards of the day. This week, we will see the launch of the biggest telescope mirror yet sent into space – the James Webb Space Telescope, whose 18 hexagonal segments will butt together to form a perfect reflecting surface 6.5-metres in diameter – with nearly 500 times TD1A’s light-collecting area. 

The Webb telescope’s capabilities in near-infrared radiation are tuned to address some of the most profound questions in our exploration of the Universe. When did the first stars and galaxies form? How did they evolve? And what can we learn about the exoplanets orbiting stars in the Sun’s neighbourhood – including their potential for harbouring life? 

The Webb’s vantage point 1.5 million kilometres from Earth on the side away from the Sun provides a uniquely stable environment for the sensitive infrared measurements to be made. It also means everything has to work first time, because at that distance, there is no possibility of repair missions.

This extraordinary telescope has enormous potential for Nobel-Prize-winning scientific discovery. Truly, its launch will be the most exciting astronomical event of the decade. 

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:15pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Dr Brad Tucker is an Astrophysicist and Cosmologist at Mt. Stromlo Observatory and the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University

The James Webb Space Telescope is the Christmas present astronomers have been waiting decades to play with!  With a mirror larger than the Hubble Space Telescope, and the ability to see colours of light that Hubble can’t see.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been at the forefront of a long list of major discoveries of the Universe and is still highly in demand.  JWST will show us entirely new objects in the Universe, and open up a new era of discovery and enlightenment of the mysteries of the Universe.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:12pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

Research Professor Simon Driver is from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and International Space Centre at the University of Western Australia

After a 25-year wait the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is imminent, and the headline event of the year for the Astronomy community.

JWST will take us back in time to when the Universe was less than 1 billion years old, enabling us to form deep colour images to measure the shapes, masses and star-formation rates of the very first galaxies, and split their light into spectra to measure their chemical composition. It will allow us to peer through the dust of nearby stellar nurseries to see fledgling stars and embryonic planets in formation, and to search for the signatures of life on other worlds.

JWST is a remarkable feat of engineering, one of the most complex instruments ever built, and will demonstrate our capacity to operate new Space technologies at more than 1.5 million km from the Earth.

Australia will play a critical role in tracking the Ariane 5 launch vehicle as it enters space, and later the routine downloading of the science data eight hours a day from NASA’s deep-space tracking station at Tidbinbilla, ACT. The facility, built by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency, is open to use by all astronomers, regardless of nationality, and is destined to transform our understanding of the Universe over the coming decade and beyond.

Last updated: 11 Jan 2022 11:40am
Declared conflicts of interest:
Simon has been involved in the JWST project for 25 years as part of a JWST Interdisciplinary Scientist Team, and is a board member of the International Space Centre.
Professor Steven Tingay is the Executive Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) and Deputy Executive Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)

The world's astronomers have been waiting a decade plus for JWST to launch.  It will certainly be a hold-the-breath moment on Christmas Eve (assuming the launch date holds) and even more so when it comes time to deploy the telescope structure in space, which is an inordinately complex procedure.  Assuming all goes well in the coming weeks and months, JWST will be capable of examining the first galaxies to be born soon after the Big Bang, more than 13 billion years ago.  In Australia, radio telescopes like the Murchison Widefield Array, and the future Square Kilometre Array, are tuning in to the epoch of the formation of the first galaxies as well.  So, for Australian astronomers, the combination of JWST with our radio telescopes is particularly exciting.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:09pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Anna Moore, Director of the ANU Institute for Space

The 30-year journey to design, build, test and fund JWST will enter its final stage this week. Many close colleagues have contributed to this project since the start of my career. In my opinion, JWST marks the most ambitious machine that humankind has ever undertaken. It’s not a matter of whether it will result in a Nobel prize, but rather how many.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:08pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Richard de Grijs is Professor of Astrophysics at Macquarie University and the Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute-Beijing.

It has been a long time coming... With the impending launch of the James Webb Space Telescope we are now really on the verge of a major step change in observational astronomy. This is an incredibly exciting time, yet we still have to endure a nerve-wracking month before the telescope’s 6.5 metre (diameter) mirror will unfold. Although that process has been tested literally thousands of times in the clean room, making sure that it actually works once the observatory has reached its destination—well beyond the Moon’s orbit where no one can go to fix things in case of problems—will be the mission’s moment of truth
 
The Webb telescope is often touted as the Hubble Space Telescope’s successor. That’s not quite accurate though. Webb is really more of a 'redshift machine' (higher 'redshifts' link to enormous distances across the universe): it will give us unique insights into the formation of the first stars and galaxies near the edge of the observable universe. However, Webb won’t be able to explore the ultraviolet and blue light, where most of the active star formation occurs in the nearby universe. For those wavelengths, we still need Hubble – hopefully for many more years to come. Because of its large folding mirror, Webb will, however, allow us to obtain amazingly sharp images at infrared wavelengths, where this has never been possible before. In our local backyard, this will show us what stellar lifecycles are like, in essence allowing us the address the ultimate question as to where we come from—and what next?

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:07pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Professor Peter Tuthill, The University of Sydney Institute for Astronomy. Prof Tuthill designed a key component of one of the four scientific instruments onboard the JWST

It is quite amazing to think that this audacious telescope is finally on the launch pad, and that we are actually on the brink of opening new windows on the universe that we’ve been dreaming about all these years.
 
“Everything about this mission is on such a staggering scale of ambition that it is really a remarkable feat that NASA was able to bring it all together, ready for flight and poised to revolutionise our understanding of the universe.

Last updated: 21 Dec 2021 2:06pm
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.
Dr Benjamin Pope is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the University of Queensland

I'm really excited to be working with an international team to enhance images from JWST. We will use hardware and new software to achieve very high resolution and contrast, in order to study the process of planet and star formation.

I'm most excited to peer into the dusty disks from which planets are born around stars, and catch baby planets pulling in disk material - something that is barely possible without the incredible infrared sensitivity of JWST.

I'm also looking forward to tracking the orbits of very faint binary systems, measuring the composition of asteroids in our own Solar System - and to the many unanticipated discoveries JWST is sure to make.

Last updated: 11 Jan 2022 10:57am
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

Professor Karl Glazebrook is an ARC Laurate Fellow and Distinguished Professor at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology

The James Webb Space Telescope is blasting off this week after decades of development and US$10 billion spent, marking the high-risk first stage in one of the most ambitious science experiments of the 21st Century.

This telescope will revolutionise the study of space. The telescope is up to a million times more sensitive to infrared than any ground-based telescope, allowing us to see back to the beginning of time, to the first stars and galaxies after the Big Bang, and solve some of the greatest mysteries of the universe.

Last updated: 11 Jan 2022 11:23am
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

Glen Nagle is the Outreach and Visitor Centre Manager at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex which is part of NASA's Deep Space Network, CSIRO Space and Astronomy

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has finally made it to the launch pad. Awaiting its first call from space is the CSIRO team at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC).

Our teams have trained for every contingency and are now eagerly waiting to receive that first signal through our antennas shortly after Webb’s launch.

That signal will confirm to NASA that the spacecraft is safely on its way. Over the hours and days to come, Webb will unfold its giant mirror and solar shields, preparing to begin its mission of discovery.

The James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionise deep space astronomy. It is fantastic to see the level of Australian involvement from our universities that have contributed to the technology and data processing on this telescope. 

Australian astronomers will also use Webb to investigate our celestial neighbourhood in new ways. 

It is satisfying to know that some of the data and science coming from Webb and through our antennas will be due to Australian scientists and engineers.

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is a part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, and is managed on NASA’s behalf by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.

Last updated: 14 Feb 2022 11:53am
Declared conflicts of interest:
None declared.

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