The James Webb Space Telescope May Be a Planet Huntert
Department:
Astrotech
Teaser:
The premiere observatory of the next decade, the James Webb Space Telescope, will launch in 2014 in search of "big game"--namely, the first stars and galaxies ever formed in our Universe. But the "little game" could turn out to be just as interesting. There's a dawning awareness among astronomers that the world's largest infrared telescope is going to be a canny hunter of planets circling faraway stars.
Link:
Source:
Space News From SpaceDaily.Com Download time: Jan 15 2010 1:45 PM ET
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EXO WORLDS
Alien Planet Safari
A life-sized model of Webb on the grounds of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
by Dauna Coulter
Science@NASA
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jan 15, 2010
The premiere observatory of the next decade, the James Webb Space Telescope, will launch in 2014 in search of "big game"--namely, the first stars and galaxies ever formed in our Universe. But the "little game" could turn out to be just as interesting. There's a dawning awareness among astronomers that the world's largest infrared telescope is going to be a canny hunter of planets circling faraway stars.
"Webb was originally conceived to search for the first galaxies and address the big cosmological questions associated with them, but we now know it can contribute powerfully to the planet hunt," says Mark Clampin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
"Exoplanets are tremendously exciting. The field is changing literally by the day. I gave a talk on exoplanets the other day, and in the time between writing and delivering the speech, astronomers announced 30 new planets!"…
Also see Science@NASA.
