Speakers' kit - James Webb Space Telescope
Resources that space ambassadors and experts can use to present the James Webb Space Telescope to audiences across Canada.
Presentation
Thank you for having me here today. I am really excited to talk to you about a mission that will take us on a journey back in time: the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb will help answer some of astronomy's biggest questions.
Text version: The James Webb Space Telescope; Canada's role in the exploration of the universe. (Credit: NASA/David Higginbotham)
Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences, practised around the world for millennia.
Over time, researchers have developed more and more sophisticated methods to collect information about the planets, stars, and galaxies that surround us. We have some ground-based telescopes around the world that collect data every night. Another way of learning more about the universe is sending telescopes to space.
Credit: NASA/Hubble/ESA/STScI
Now, comes a space telescope that opens a whole new chapter in astronomy: the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
- Webb is the most complex and powerful space telescope ever built. With its massive golden mirror, and by studying the universe in the infrared light, Webb can peer farther back in time and detect light from the earliest stars and galaxies.
- Canada has contributed the Fine Guidance Sensor, the "eyes of the telescope," and NIRISS, one of the four scientific instruments onboard.
- This contribution earns Canadian researchers a piece of Webb's exciting mission, giving them observation time that promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe.
Credit: NASA
Webb's destination is a point in space called Lagrange 2, or L2 – one and a half million kilometres away from Earth. Its considerable distance from Earth means that it cannot be serviced in space.
With Webb, astronomers will study every phase in cosmic history, from the light in the early universe from only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang and the formation of stellar systems to the search for clues of life on exoplanets and the evolution of our own solar system.
Text version: From its vantage point 1.5 million km away from Earth, Webb will use infrared light to study every phase in cosmic history. The graphic illustrates the second Lagrange point, or L2, which is 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, opposite the Sun. The Sun and Earth are 150 million kilometres apart. (Credits: ESA, CSA)
Canada's role
The Canadian Space Agency is contributing two highly important elements, built by Canadian company COM DEV, now a division of Honeywell.
Contributing the Fine Guidance Sensor and the NIRISS instrument to Webb means that Canadian astronomers have an allotted time for observations.
The Canadian-made FGS will allow Webb to:
- determine its own position in space;
- locate and track its celestial targets; and
- remain steady with very high precision, on specific targets.
The FGS will play an important role in all scientific observations made by Webb and will help stabilize the telescope to ensure the collection of clear and detailed images.
Credit: NASA
The search for life in other worlds begins with the search for clues of life.
By measuring the unique properties of the light that filters through the atmosphere of an exoplanet as it passes in front of its host star, we can detect the presence of specific molecules in that atmosphere – similar to creating a fingerprint of each exoplanet. And seeing if it's a match!
The Canadian NIRISS instrument will enable scientists to:
- determine the composition of exoplanets' atmospheres;
- observe distant galaxies; and
- examine faint light sources in the vicinity of bright objects.
Text version: NIRISS measures the unique atmospheric fingerprint (spectrum) of planets orbiting distant stars. Using Webb, scientists could find habitable exoplanets if their spectra reveal the presence of important molecules like water, carbon dioxide, methane and oxygen in their atmospheres. (Credits: Christine Daniloff/MIT, Julien de Wit)
From a science perspective, Webb represents the beginning of a new chapter in astronomy, and promises to really deepen our understanding of the cosmos.
Webb has four main science objectives:
- Other worlds
Looking outwards from Earth, Webb will observe some of the planets of our own solar system, and some of their moons: for example, Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. Farther from home, we know of over 4000 exoplanets with likely thousands more to discover.
- Lifecycle of stars
Certain areas are known as star nurseries, star-forming regions like the red portion of this image. Webb will give us new insight about how stars begin to form, evolve over their lifetime, and how they run out of fuel and eventually die.
- Early universe
Webb will look back in time to observe some of the oldest light of the early universe.
- Galaxies over time
Because Webb's powerful gaze acts like a time machine, allowing us to see the universe as it used to be, the space telescope will allow us to observe galaxies over time.
Galaxies are subject to the powerful gravitational forces that sometimes bring them into contact with one another, where they often merge. This will happen to our Milky Way and our closest galactic neighbour, Andromeda Galaxy.
Text version: A New Chapter in Astronomy. (Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI)
NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency have come together and built the world's most complex and powerful space telescope.
Canada contributed the Fine Guidance Sensor and of one of the four scientific instruments.
Thanks to this contribution, Canadian astronomers and scientists will take part in Webb's exciting science mission that promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe.
Credit: NASA/Hubble/ESA/STScI
To stay up to date on the Webb Telescope's mission, visit the CSA's website and follow us on social media.
Text version: Follow the CSA on social media. (Credit: CSA)
Multimedia
- NIRISS, Canada's exoplanet specialist on the James Webb Space Telescope - Infographic
- NIRISS, Canada's cosmic time machine on the James Webb Space Telescope - Infographic
- Canada's stellar navigator on the James Webb Space Telescope - Infographic
- Background image for virtual presentations
- Image gallery
- Video gallery and animations
Frequently asked questions
What is the James Webb Space Telescope?
The James Webb Space Telescope is the most important space observatory of the next decade, serving astronomers from all over the world. It is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Webb is the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, but not its replacement. The two missions have a planned overlap and will work together on new discoveries. Webb will build on Hubble's impressive legacy by helping humanity peer even deeper into the universe.
What is Canada's contribution to the telescope?
The CSA is contributing two important elements, built by Honeywell, to the Webb Telescope:
- the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS), which will allow the telescope to point at and focus on objects of interest
- the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS), a scientific instrument that will help study many astronomical objects, from exoplanets to distant galaxies
In exchange, Canada will receive a guaranteed share of Webb's observation time, making Canadian scientists some of the first to study data collected by the most advanced space telescope ever built.
When will Webb be launched? Where will it go?
The telescope is scheduled to launch on , aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It will take Webb about a month to travel to its final destination, 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.
How long will Webb's mission last?
After its six-month post-launch commissioning period, Webb will operate for a minimum of five years, to approximately 10 years. Webb will carry fuel for a 10-year lifetime. The length of the mission will ultimately be determined by the amount of fuel used to maintain Webb's orbit, and by the proper functioning of the spacecraft and its instruments.
What will Webb discover?
Webb's powerful look into the universe will help scientists discover alien worlds like exoplanets, learn more about the life cycles of stars, paint a fascinating picture of the early universe, and see galaxies as they evolve through time.