Posts: 2755
Threads: 8
Joined: November 28, 2014
Reputation:
22
RE: James Webb
October 4, 2021 at 3:36 am
At work.
I hope it works and achieves a great many things.
My thoughts are; That once it does finally stop working think of the monument (However 'Small') to human engineering we've placed amongst the heavens for any future sophonts to discover.
Since it's my understanding that once 'In'/'At' the Lagrange point it's not going anywhere for a looooooong time.
Cheers.
Posts: 9886
Threads: 21
Joined: September 8, 2015
Reputation:
79
RE: James Webb
October 4, 2021 at 6:25 pm
(October 4, 2021 at 4:48 pm)Jackalope Wrote: (October 4, 2021 at 3:36 am)Peebo-Thuhlu Wrote: At work.
I hope it works and achieves a great many things.
My thoughts are; That once it does finally stop working think of the monument (However 'Small') to human engineering we've placed amongst the heavens for any future sophonts to discover.
Since it's my understanding that once 'In'/'At' the Lagrange point it's not going anywhere for a looooooong time.
Cheers.
If it were going to be placed at L4 or L5, perhaps, bit it's going to be at L2 which will require periodic course corrections every ~23 days. I would expect it to eventually be unable to do so.
"
Because the helium will gradually be used up, JWST has a finite and short mission lifetime (5.5 to 10 years).” ... it is limited by the supply of hydrazine fuel needed to maintain the spacecraft's orbit."- AmericanScientist.com
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
Posts: 9886
Threads: 21
Joined: September 8, 2015
Reputation:
79
RE: James Webb
October 4, 2021 at 7:54 pm
(October 4, 2021 at 6:50 pm)Jackalope Wrote: (October 4, 2021 at 6:25 pm)Fireball Wrote: "Because the helium will gradually be used up, JWST has a finite and short mission lifetime (5.5 to 10 years).” ... it is limited by the supply of hydrazine fuel needed to maintain the spacecraft's orbit."- AmericanScientist.com
Yes, but we weren't talking about mission life. We're talking about how long it will remain at L2 after it's long since ceased being useful.
Ah, OK.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
Posts: 5813
Threads: 86
Joined: November 19, 2017
Reputation:
59
RE: James Webb
October 4, 2021 at 10:23 pm
It might actually last longer being stationed at L2. Yeah, it'll drift away and fall into the orbit of some massive body. But if it were at L4, L5... seems to me it'd eventually collide with all the natural rocks that are also stuck in L4/L5.
I'm not sure if this is true or not. Just conjecture on my part. I know that asteroids naturally get stuck in L4/L5. Seems to me, over geologic time scales, James Webb might be safer just kind of floating around freely rather than in the "rock pit."
Posts: 9886
Threads: 21
Joined: September 8, 2015
Reputation:
79
RE: James Webb
October 4, 2021 at 11:04 pm
I'm pretty sure that people way above our paygrade have considered where to put it, and decided that L2 was the optimal place.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
Posts: 3290
Threads: 118
Joined: January 19, 2015
Reputation:
30
RE: James Webb
January 9, 2022 at 5:56 pm
I avoided getting excited about the Webb because I was pessimistic about its chances of successfully deploying. The sunshield alone had to be an engineer's nightmare! But by some combination of genius and luck, we have a fully-deployed telescope. It still needs to go through five months of alignment and calibration but I'm daring to hope now. What a spectacular instrument of science this thing is going to be if all goes well!
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
Posts: 5813
Threads: 86
Joined: November 19, 2017
Reputation:
59
RE: James Webb
January 13, 2022 at 1:32 am
Everything is looking good. Fingers crossed. I can't wait for the first observations.
Posts: 20476
Threads: 447
Joined: June 16, 2014
Reputation:
111
RE: James Webb
January 13, 2022 at 2:25 am
Is it powerful?
Can it peer through bedroom windows in New Zealand?
Asking for a friend.
(Boru, I'll let you know when I get an answer)
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
