Do people like threads here? I guess we'll find out!
Between meetings today I thought I'd talk about #NASA #JWST and all the exciting #science we can expect from it starting in a few months!
(Yes, I made this travel mug ❤️)
#SciComm #Exoplanets #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Telescope #MastodonNewbie
A quick note: if you ask me what #JWST stands for I'll tell you it's the Just Wonderful Space Telescope
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-needs-to-rename-the-james-webb-space-telescope/
Fun Fact #1: #JWST is the LARGEST space telescope ever built! It's so big that the mirrors were folded up to fit in the #ESA #Ariane5 #Rocket that launched it last Christmas
(Yes, this diagram of me standing next to the Hubble and JWST mirrors is to scale!)
Because it launched folded up, #JWST spent the first several weeks verrryyy carefully unfolding itself in space as it traveled to its orbit.
The scariest part was the sunshield tensioning! The sunshield is the pink/grey part and is used to keep the mirrors and instruments nice and cold so we can see the very faint heat from the early universe!
Erin M. May, PhD
T. J. Bombadil