A new era of astronomy will dawn Saturday, Dec. 25, when the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful space telescope ever constructed, lifts off from the edge of a South American jungle and begins a decadelong mission to catch the glitter of the first stars at the birth of the universe.
With six times the light-gathering power of the Hubble Space Telescope, which preceded it into space more than a generation ago, the Webb telescope will peer deeper into the cosmos—and farther back in time—to open a window on the universe as it took shape soon after the Big Bang.
A new era of astronomy will dawn Saturday, Dec. 25, when the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful space telescope ever constructed, lifts off from the edge of a South American jungle and begins a decadelong mission to catch the glitter of the first stars at the birth of the universe. With six times the light-gathering power of the Hubble Space Telescope, which preceded it into space more than a generation ago, the Webb telescope will peer deeper into the cosmos—and farther back in time—to open a window on the universe as it took shape soon after the Big Bang.