Imagine the best photographer in the world reporting in unbearably cold temperatures, in the rain, with the wind blowing in his face and a gang of mischievous kids throwing rocks at him. As good as they are, photos can be disastrous, right? Well, that’s not enough for everything that the James Webb telescope has to withstand in space. In his case, it is not about wind, rain or naughty children. But yes from youcryogenic temperatures, cosmic radiation and the constant impact of micrometeoroids.
Already in May it was noticed that one of them he damaged one of his mirrors, although there was a call for calm, assuring that he was ready for this and the consequences would not be serious. Now, after the publication of a report on his condition, we were able to see that the consequences were more serious than previously thought.
It is true that “James Webb” was ready for something like this. However, the damage caused by hitting one of his mirrors pretty big. However, this should not interfere with your performance. You just have to see the quality of your first photos. It is simply important to know that all these hardships were taken into account when calculating its service life. It must be from at least 5 years. After this time, it will collect enough data to get a better idea of space. But that doesn’t mean that you should definitely retire at this time. If it works well, it will continue to extend its life as much as possible. And this would not be unusual. Despite the damage, we have James Webb for a while.
What are micrometeoroids?
Before analyzing the damage, it is important to know who is causing it. Micrometeoroids very small particles of space rocksusually less than one gram by weight.
They are in constant motion in space and play a very important role in the processes space erosion. For example, their impact on the Moon is common. That’s why the designers of the James Webb knew that the space telescope would collide with them more than once. Due to their small size, they will not lead to big changes, but ways will need to be found to eliminate the possible consequences for the alignment of the mirrors. In addition, they had to be ready to withstand the blow. And the truth is that, seeing the consequences of this first strike, it seems that they were very well prepared.
Slight damage to James Webb’s mirrors
The scientists behind James Webb have released a preliminary report on his current condition after he took his first science photographs.
this is very good, even much better than expected. There is only a small hole in the road. Literally.
A micrometeoroid reported last May left a small crack in one of the mirrors. something more than originally intended. In fact, it can be seen in the photo published in the report as a bright spot in the lower right corner.
Mirrors are a key part of James Webb. Thanks to them, it can collect and direct much more light to the instruments than its predecessors, with greater exposure. This will help you get much more accurate images than, for example, Hubble. The price was to launch the telescope into space with folded mirrors that gradually opened up during the journey.
It is important that they work correctly, but have a small margin. In fact, according to the report, it is expected that each of the 18 mirror segments receives 16 nanometers of cumulative damage for a six-year period of operation. It is true that this impact has exceeded these expectations. However, the mirror was able to level out and continue working without problems after the micrometeoroid impact.
If things continue like this, it will not be strange that James Webb will surpass his useful life. But in fact, only time can accurately answer this question. We will have to calmly wait and savor each new photo that you send us to Earth. The first ones were impressive, but this has literally just begun.
Source: Hiper Textual
