James Webb Telescope: A new view
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Jul. 12—LIMA — The Lima Astronomical Society on Tuesday showcased a live feed of the Webb Space Telescope's first images since its launch into space on December 25, 2021. The James Webb Telescope is the first new Telescope in space since the Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990.
According to NASA, this new telescope was engineered to build upon groundbreaking discoveries of other spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA also notes that while Hubble views space in visible and ultraviolet light, Webb focuses on infrared, a wavelength important for peering through gas and dust to see distant objects.
"The new James Webb Space Telescope is going to change everything in astronomy because this telescope is so much better than the Hubble Space Scope," said Michael Ritchie, President of the Lima Astronomical Society. "The Hubble Telescope needed to be fixed but this one works. One of the mirrors on the James Webb Space Telescope was hit by a micrometeorite but that did not change anything. There is a lot we can do here on earth with our ground base telescope but when Hubble launched 22 years ago it opened up a lot of fields in astronomy."
Living in awe and wonder of the beautiful creation we call space is not just for adults but for children of all ages. At just 8 years old, Ezra Damaske spends much of his time studying outer space and learning about the different galaxies.
"I have loved space and knowing about this new telescope makes me even more excited. I want to work at NASA now more than ever," said Ezra. "I just try and learn all that I can from newspapers, books and YouTube videos. I also watch it on television, but mostly I pick up things I know from NASA by book."
He plans to one day become an engineer for NASA and help with space advancement.
The Lima Astronomical Society is open every Friday night at 9 p.m. Family and friends can gather to get a local view of the sky above. The LAS was recently approved for funding to obtain a new telescope and new lights in their facility. With new equipment, LAS looks forward to the new advances in astronomy and telling more people about their program.
