There’s a big gift for astronomers you won’t find under any Christmas tree.
The James Webb Space Telescope, the most complex telescope ever constructed, is scheduled to launch on Dec. 22.
Webb is the scientific successor to the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, each essentially a giant time machine that peers into the past by collecting light from many millions of years ago as it travels from all over the universe to Earth.
“We can see back very far into the universe, but not quite to the era when we think the first galaxies originally formed,” says Dr. Steven Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin.
That’s where astronomers expect Webb to shine.
Over 21 feet in diameter, its mirror will be the largest ever flown into space. It will be able to detect much fainter galaxies than ever before.