Adjustments to NASAs powerful James Webb Space Telescope have now put it in a position to obtain extraordinarily sharp images of a distant object in space, or even galaxies.
Maryland (U.S.A.), Aug.25 : Adjustments to NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope have now put it in a position to obtain extraordinarily sharp images of a distant object in space, or even galaxies.
This has been made possible thanks to scientists and engineers having successfully created and tested a set of algorithms and software programs to enable the telescope's 19 individual mirrors to function as one very sensitive telescope.These algorithms and software programs, called the "Wavefront Sensing and Controls" (WFSC) will be presented at the Optics and Photonics meeting of the Society for Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) meeting in San Diego, California between August 26 and 30.
The Webb Telescope's 18 primary mirror segments cover a combined total area of 25 square meters (approximately 30 square yards) and a diameter of 6.5 meters (approximately 21 feet).
Bill Hayden, Systems Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, says that "It's critical that all 18 mirror segments be aligned in position so that they act as one smooth surface, and the secondary mirror be placed exactly right."
After its launch in 2013, when the Webb Telescope settles into its vantage point about one million miles from Earth, and periodically thereafter, the orientations of the telescope=92s 18 primary mirror segments and the position of the secondary mirror will have to be adjusted to bring light from the universe into focus.
The WFSC system is put to work when the telescope takes digital pictures of a star. It then processes the images through mathematical algorithms to calculate the mirror adjustments required to bring the stellar image into focus.
When the individual mirrors are properly aligned, the Webb Telescope will be able to obtain extraordinarily sharp images and detect the faint glimmer of a distant galaxy.
The algorithms were tested on a detailed scale model of the 6.5-meter space telescope and through computer simulations.
"This major technological accomplishment, which built on the legacy of software algorithms used to fix the Hubble Space Telescope and align the Keck telescope, is a major step forward in the development of JWST.
The Webb Telescope is designed to study the faint light from objects at the farthest reaches of space and time.
SPIE is an international society advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light.
ANI