Here's How NASA Is Aligning The James Webb Telescope's Mirrors
The alignment of the James Webb Telescope’s mirrors is yet another feat of engineering from the most advanced space telescope ever made by NASA. The first image the Webb Telescope transmitted to Earth was of 18 blurred dotted stars. The image circled the globe going viral. While the image does not seem like much, it is just the beginning of an impressive process of alignment.
The James Webb Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021. It took the telescope over a month to reach an orbit beyond the Moon, 1.5 million miles from planet Earth. In a spectacular launch and amazing high-tech origami deployment, the telescope unfolded its solar panels, heat shield, and mirrors successfully.
Related: How NASA's James Webb Telescope Will Find Habitable Worlds
The James Webb Telescope is now cooling its temperature thanks to the sun-shield and taking on a three-month long process of mirror alignment. Seven stages of fine-tuning are needed to get the telescope up and running. The iconic 18 golden mirrors, known as the primary mirrors, reflect light from the universe onto the secondary mirror that is extended by booms in the center. Light from the second mirror travels into the instruments where they are registered as data and visuals. But to get this right, all 18 mirrors must be aligned to create a unified image on the secondary mirror.
Imagine a game where 18 people have to use a mirror to reflect the light of the sun onto a dot on the wall. The 18 people would have to move about their mirrors to get the sunbeam right on target. This is exactly what NASA engineers are doing, only that the light they are reflecting is that of the most distant objects of the observable universe, and mirrors are millions of miles away in deep space.
Read more on screenrant.com
