Telescope offers glimpse into past, present, future of celestial answers to earthly conflicts
Space travel and advancement offers up the frontier of this generation. The endless abyss that is space waits to be explored by the young adventurers of the time, from new galaxies, planets, and solar system to the history of space itself and the cause for the Big Bang.
Following the launch of the Hubble Telescope on April 24, 1990, a new and improved spacecraft made its debut on December 25, 2021, at 7:20 AM. The telescope will orbit the sun 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth, at the second Lagrange point, the point in space where gravitational forces and the orbital motion of a body are balanced between each other. This makes it easier for the craft to almost “hover” in a single location for a long period of time and collect consistent data.
However, the James Webb Space Telescope has many other qualities that make it stand out from its elders.
“We’re able to see more into the infrared, which will allow us to see older celestial bodies, even allowing us to see even farther back in time. This might get us closer to the Big Bang,” science student teacher Jared Holmes said.
Astronomy and science teacher, Rebecca Kocha, acknowledges that this will advance the theory of how the universe was created.
“This should give us images that will help us better understand and further develop the Big Bang theory,” she said. “This will look more into the actual creation of our universe, of our solar system and its history.”
For people unaware of what the Big Bang is, in simpler terms, it is how astronomers explain the creation of the universe. However, it’s just a theory that NASA hopes to expand on and hopefully finalize the foundation for through exactly this sort of investigation.
Beyond this idea, some other specific goals from NASA for this telescope include determining how galaxies have evolved over time, more detail on how stars are formed, and possibly the most intriguing for many, the study of physical and chemical properties on planetary systems and to investigate their potential of life on those planets.
“I definitely think it's progressing towards that. If it's out there; it’s going to help us find it,” Kocha said.
Although many will argue that space technology is a waste of time and money, discovering other planets with the ability to sustain human and planetary life is key when looking at the current struggles Earth faces.
“Like the climate crisis, we can look into space, look into the things that are happening on other planets, and find evidence and records that could help us actually prevent or slow the problem,” Kocha said. “We just need to remind people that there is more out there, beyond Earth, that it's not only interesting to learn about, but important to learn about to help save our own planet.”
Looking into the future, knowing what’s going on beyond the naked eye view, could potentially help the human race in case of a serious event. If there was an unexpected asteroid, a nearby collision, or geological phenomena that damages the Earth, knowing there’s another place to go outside the solar system acts as a good back up plan, which could potentially save the human race.
By Len Kloss
Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue V
February 22, 2022