JWST: Update on the incoming data

The NYT published an article (here not behind paywall) about what the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) is doing and has found since data started flowing back to Earth in late 2021. It orbits about 1 million miles from Earth and it is at a point in space called L2 (Lagrange point 2). In essence, space at L2 uses the Earth to shield JWST from light, high energy radiation and heat from the sun, making it possible to record data from deep space at very low temperatures. Since the heat from the Sun is shielded out, the very faint light from far away can be detected without interference from the Sun. 

Lagrange points are areas of gravitational stability around two orbiting objects, 
allowing a space vehicle or telescope to be parked there without much 
movement from gravity from nearby massive bodies like the Sun, Moon and Earth 


Gravitational field drawing
Notice the lack of a significant gravity force
at L2 and the other four Lagrange points 

At present, the JWST sends 57.2 gigabytes of data to Earth every day. That is the equivalent of tens of thousands of standard iPhone photos. The NYT writes:


Carina Nebula




Discovered in June 2023


Called methyl cation, the molecule is believed to play a key role in the creation of complex carbon molecules — the molecules that make up all life on Earth
Methane is CH4, methyl cation is CH3+, which is highly chemically reactive


Methyl cation - it has a + charge and a flat or planar 
shape, making it highly chemically reactive 
because carbon atoms really want to have four bonds, not three


Methane (CH4) has a pyramid structure and the 
carbon atom has four bonds, making it less reactive 








Hubble found ~3,000 galaxies
in the empty spot




From that same patch of sky 
with the 94,000 galaxies




By Germaine: Amateur science geek




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