Hubble and JWST

 The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was one of the largest and most versatile. The Hubble telescope is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble and is one of NASA's Great Observatories (includes Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra and Compton Gamma Ray). The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) selects Hubble's targets and processes the resulting data, while the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) controls the spacecraft.

Hubble features a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) mirror, and its five main instruments observe in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Hubble's orbit outside the distortion of Earth's atmosphere allows it to capture extremely high-resolution images with substantially lower background light than ground-based telescopes. It has recorded some of the most detailed visible light images, allowing a deep view into space. Many Hubble observations have led to breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as determining the rate of expansion of the universe. 

 ... and then came JWST...

 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, its greatly improved infrared resolution and sensitivity allows it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This is expected to enable a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.

NASA led JWST's development in collaboration with ESA and CSA. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) managed the telescope development, the Space Telescope Science Institute operates JWST. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. 

 

Comparing four of the FIVE by Hubble and JWST (except WASP-92b of course)

© The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA); NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Hubble's image of the Southern Ring Nebula (left) has just one light at its center, while JWST (right) clearly shows two stars. The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA); NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI 

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© NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/CSA A portion of the Carina Nebula, imaged by Hubble (left) and JWST (right). NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/

JWST reveals hundreds of stars that weren't visible before 

"When I see an image like this, I can't help but think about scale," Amber Straughn, a NASA astrophysicist on the JWST team, said in the livestream. "Every dot of light we see here is an individual star, not unlike our sun, and many of these likely also have planets. And it just reminds me that our sun and our planet, and ultimately us, were formed out of the same kind of stuff that we see here."

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© Hubble SM4 ERO Team/NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI The galaxy cluster Stephan's Quintet, as imaged by Hubble (left) and JWST (right). Hubble SM4 ERO Team/NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI 

 Four of the galaxies in this image are about 300,000 light-years away.

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© NASA/STScI; NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI A side-by-side collage of the same area taken by Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA/STScI; NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI 

A long exposure of a tiny portion of the sky - just like a sandcorn on the tip of your finger - reveals galaxies which are 13.1 billion lightyears away. Back in time.

 

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... and there's so much more to come!

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Sources: wikipedia, MSN