Science and Exploration

Webb Telescope Engineering Selfie

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
NASA
November 9, 2022
Filed under , , ,
Webb Telescope Engineering Selfie
Webb Telescope Engineering Selfie
NASA

The James Webb Space Telescope used the NirCam, the Near Infrared Imaging camera. This raw image was made using the near infrared F140M & F210M filters.

The Primary Mirror is in the darkest shadow of the sunshield and is lit only by a very faint star, that is below naked eye visibility.

The temperature of the Primary Mirror ranges from minus 238.75 Celsius / minus 397.25 Fahrenheit or 34.4 Kelvin to minus 218.65 Celsius / minus 361.57 Fahrenheit or 54.5 Kelvin. It is hoped that the mirror will cool further by a few degrees as this will improve the sensitivity of the MIRI.

The MIRI (mid infrared) camera detector had to be cooled to minus 267 Celsius / minus 449 Fahrenheit or 6 Kelvin in order to take mid infrared images!!!!!

The JWST was launched on Christmas Day 2021 on board an Ariane 5 booster from the Kourou Spaceport, French Guiana.

Text: Andrew R Brown.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI. James Webb Space Telescope.

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.