                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2021 December 26

                    James Webb Space Telescope over Earth
               Image Credit: Arianespace, ESA, NASA, CSA, CNES

   Explanation: There's a big new telescope in space. This one, the James
   Webb Space Telescope (JWST), not only has a mirror over five times
   larger than Hubble's in area, but can see better in infrared light. The
   featured picture shows JWST high above the Earth just after being
   released by the upper stage of an Ariane V rocket, launched yesterday
   from French Guiana. Over the next month, JWST will move out near the
   Sun-Earth L2 point where it will co-orbit the Sun with the Earth.
   During this time and for the next five months, JWST will unravel its
   segmented mirror and an array of sophisticated scientific instruments
   -- and test them. If all goes well, JWST will start examining galaxies
   across the universe and planets orbiting stars across our Milky Way
   Galaxy in the summer of 2022.

                  APOD Gallery: Webb Space Telescope Launch
                       Tomorrow's picture: comet webb
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

