“The first year (of observations) is a way of testing the instrument for small rocky planets in the habitable zone that could potentially be Earth-like,” said Lisa Kaltenegger, associate professor in astronomy at Cornell University.
“And the tests are beautiful. They’re fantastic.”
Webb will blast off in late 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket, the crown of a 30-year project at the US space agency NASA.
It cost 10,000 people and $10 billion to put the 6.2-ton observatory into space.
On the way to the final orbit, Webb deployed a five-layer sunshield the size of a tennis court, followed by a 6.5-meter primary mirror composed of 18 hexagonal, gold-plated segments, or petals.
After calibration to less than one millionth of a meter, the 18 petals begin to gather light-pulsating stars.
On July 12, the first images underscored Webb’s capabilities unveiling thousands of galaxies, some dating close to the birth of the universe, and a star nursery in the Carina Nebula.
Jupiter has been captured in incredible detail that is expected to help understand the workings of the giant gas planet.