More recently, some astronomers and astrophysicists have argued that NASA should rename its new flagship observatory. In a March comments section in American Science, four scientists argue that by the 1960s its name was known, if not complicit, to “lavender-fear” policies in the federal government, including NASA. Similar to the anti-Communist “red fear,” these policies drove many LGBTQ workers out of their jobs at federal agencies.
Those authors, as well as more than 1,700 other authors in one online site petition was circulated after the publication of that opinion, calling for the telescope’s name to be changed. Their objections prompted NASA to launch an internal investigation in June. The agency does not release the results of that poll, but on September 27, current NASA administrator Bill Nelson sent a short statement to several News store: “We have found no evidence at this time that warrants a name change for the James Webb Space Telescope.”
“I think NASA could do much better with their transparency promises,” said Sarah Tuttle, a University of Washington astronomer and one of the authors of the op-ed. “I certainly hope in the future NASA will look at actually establishing a community process as we name it and launch more exciting big flagship missions.” She and other space scientists lament the name James Webb as an unfortunate distraction from the science the telescope would enable; they suggest alternatives like the Harriet Tubman Space Telescope and Amazing space telescope.
“Our focus should be on the tremendous strength of this amazing facility that people have worked their entire careers to build. Leaving it bogged down with one element of controversy, said Caitlin Casey, an astronomer at the University of Texas at Austin who coordinates the COSMOS-Web collaboration. The group renamed their own research program from COSMOS-Webb, and Casey now uses only the telescope’s initials.
Now The telescope has finally arrived, and everyone is excited — and nervous — focused on launching it. Minor problems with the telescope’s tool attached to the top of the rocket, and related communication problems between the observatory and the launch vehicle system, delayed the launch, which had been scheduled for October. December 18th.
Assuming the launch goes as planned, astronomers will then have to wait about six months until space science’s biggest Christmas present unfolds and begins to witness cosmic wonders. new pillar. First, NASA engineers and their international colleagues had to follow an hourly step-by-step process to open the telescope, move it into place, cool down, and inspect every part of every instrument, Mather said. He expects scientific observations to begin in the early summer.
Hubble, flying in low Earth orbit, needs regular maintenance by astronauts over the years, and the later it gets, the more susceptible it is to hardware problem. For JWST, it is not possible to repair in space because it will be very far. Since no one could get to JWST with a screwdriver, engineers had to hope that all their test and redundancy systems would suffice. They have also developed methods for adjusting the telescope remotely, as needed. For example, scientists on the ground were able to precisely align the telescope’s mirrors, each fitted with seven mechanical motors.
Astronomers believe that JWST will not only benefit science, it will be a boon to impart that knowledge to those curious about distant worlds, the lives of stars. and the beginning of the universe. “I think the images will be as iconic and transformative as the Hubble image, if not more,” says Casey. “I will be really moved when I see them, and I think the public will be really drawn to them.”
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