NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, described by The New Yorker as a "potentially revolutionary instrument," is set to launch into orbit a million miles from Earth later this year. If all goes according to plan, it should be able to give scientists a clearer glimpse into the universe's past than ever before, but it may also be able to tell us a lot about things a little closer to home.
David Helfland, an astronomer at Columbia University, told The New Yorker that the J.W.S.T will be able to examine both the "'Very Far Away' and 'Very close.'" The latter, he said, "in some ways may be the most exciting" because "it's about looking at planets that are not too different from Earth."
Those planets, known as exoplanets, lay beyond the Solar System and are the subject of a burgeoning scientific field called exoplanetology. Though they don't emit light, Helfland explained that when they "pass in front of a star they leave a sort of fingerprint," which can be read for clues. There's hope that that the J.W.S.T will use those close to study atmospheres of these planets and see if there are signs of life, such as the detection of oxygen or other gases. Read more about the J.W.S.T at The New Yorker.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The moon is rustingUnder the radar The Earth is likely to blame
-
Panspermia: the theory that life was sent to Earth by aliensUnder The Radar New findings have resurfaced an old, controversial idea
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
