JWST Basics
This year JWST launched into space.
What is 2021?
JWST can detect these planets that orbit other stars.
What are exoplanets?
JWST’s mirrors are made of this metal and coated with gold.
What is beryllium?
Infrared light is especially good for seeing through this.
What is dust?
JWST primarily observes this type of light.
What is infrared light?
These glowing areas are where stars are born.
What are nebulae or stellar nurseries?
This large structure protects JWST from the Sun’s heat.
What is the sunshield?
JWST helps us see galaxies as they were this many years ago.
What is billions of years ago?
JWST was launched aboard this rocket.
What is the Ariane 5?
This is the earliest era of galaxy formation JWST can observe.
What is the early universe / first few hundred million years?
JWST’s mirror has this many hexagonal segments.
What is 18?
Light from faraway galaxies is stretched by this effect.
What is redshift?
This telescope came before JWST.
What is the Hubble Space Telescope?
JWST observed this famous star-forming region early in its mission.
What is the Carina Nebula?
JWST had to be folded to fit into this part of the rocket.
What is the payload fairing?
JWST’s instruments must be kept extremely cold to avoid this.
What is interference from its own heat?
This is the full name of JWST.
What is the James Webb Space Telescope?
JWST studies these to look for possible signs of life.
What are exoplanet atmospheres?
JWST orbits near this stable point in space, about a million miles from Earth.
What is L2 (Lagrange Point 2)?
This scientific principle lets JWST see the past by observing distant light.
What is the finite speed of light?