The James Webb Space Telescope has reached its final orbit, at a distance of about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, at the point called Lagrangian two, where the influence of the Earth, Moon and Sun are balanced.
"Webb, welcome home!" NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Congratulations to the team for all their hard work ensuring Webb's safe arrival,” he continued. “We are one step closer to uncovering the mysteries of the universe. And I can't wait to see the first new images. of the universe this summer! ”.
The particular place where the Webb space telescope is positioned will allow continuous observation of the cosmos, always pointing in the opposite direction to the Sun. NASA has stated that the insertion into orbit consumed very little propellant, thus allowing the James Webb Telescope to operate for a long time, periodically making small adjustments to counter the effects of the pressure of the solar radiation on the enormous solar shield.
The new space telescope, managed by NASA in collaboration with European (ESA) and Canadian (CSA) agencies, will investigate the early Universe, which until now was beyond the reach of telescopes.
The goal will be to observe the first stars from their birth to their disappearance in massive supernova explosions, revealing the life of stars composed exclusively of hydrogen and helium.
The Webb telescope will also be able to see the formation of the first galaxies and unravel the mystery of the gigantic black holes that we find at the center of many of them. This powerful eye, the most evolved ever built by man, will become fully operational in the coming months and among the many planned observations, it will point far exoplanets similar to the Earth, looking in their atmospheres for indicators of the existence of life, to give an initial answer. to the fundamental question of man: is there life beyond the Earth in the Universe ?.
