What can the James Webb Space Telescope see that Hubble can't?
It looks at the universe in infrared, seeing through dust and back in time.
The answer
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in December 2021, observes primarily in infrared light, allowing it to peer through cosmic dust clouds that block visible light and to detect the oldest, most redshifted galaxies in the universe. Its 6.5-meter gold-plated mirror is nearly three times larger than Hubble's, giving it far greater sensitivity. JWST has already discovered galaxies that formed just 300 million years after the Big Bang, analyzed the atmospheres of exoplanets for signs of habitability, and revealed star formation in unprecedented detail within our own galaxy.
Source: NASA JWST
- James Webb
- infrared
- telescopes
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