James Webb

[Anomalocaris]

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)

Yes, it can, but its sensor will burn out.

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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!

I am wondering about the precision and accuracy of the mirror folding mechanism and amount and precision of post unfolding adjustment available.

[vulcanlogician]

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)

Tell your friend it can see farther away moons.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

It's barely got started and the WebbScope is already a huge success at gathering information from the farthest reaches of the universe. NASA have released the following data stream recovered from MACS0647-JD, a galaxy estimated to be more than 13 billion lightyears from Earth:

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'Hello! We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty!'

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Boru

[vulcanlogician]

It's almost there. Will arrive tomorrow.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-webb-...stination/

[Angrboda]

[brewer]

Am I the only one who is having a hard time justifying any result with expense? I can think of a lot of other things to do with 10 billion that will help mankind.

[Fireball]

Am I the only one who is having a hard time justifying any result with expense? I can think of a lot of other things to do with 10 billion that will help mankind.

Go research what the space program has given back to humanity just in terms of health benefits. I have no problem with the space program, though I will admit that I have a vested interest, having spent 27 years of my life working on space systems.

[brewer]

Am I the only one who is having a hard time justifying any result with expense? I can think of a lot of other things to do with 10 billion that will help mankind.

Go research what the space program has given back to humanity just in terms of health benefits. I have no problem with the space program, though I will admit that I have a vested interest, having spent 27 years of my life working on space systems.

I have no issues with the tech advancement aspect. Just have a hard time imagining what infrared from the beginning of time will provide other than pure knowledge. 

Can you tell me what Kepler, Hubble, ........ gave us other than knowledge for knowledge's sake (outside of the tech that may have been developed anyway on other missions)? That's my drift, shortsighted as it may be, there should be a cost-benefit ratio aspect.

[Jackalope]

How about we save a few billion by bombing fewer people?

[zebo-the-fat]

First of all, what's wrong with pure knowledge?
Secondly, most of the money is still here on Earth, the engineers and technicians got paid and spent their money here to help businesses on Earth.