They do. Webb sees into the red part of the visible spectrum. Looking it up, I find that Webb can see up to .6 microns and Hubble down to 2.5 microns. The visible spectrum has a low limit at about .7 microns
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on 12 July 2022
The JWST website is finally showing that 1 out of the 17 instruments modes has been completed for the commissioning process.
2 now !!
The excitement is tangible.
We’re all anxious to see results, but slow and careful deployment is the way to go. The JWST should have a much longer than anticipated service life.
JWST mirror hit by micrometeoroid. Fortunately no damage of any significance.
it was the 5th one apparently (biggest … so far)
Also … 2 more instrument modes completed today !!
If a meteor of any size hits the Webb Telescope and knocks it tumbling madly off into the void, but nobody is there to hear it, does it make any noise?
Isn’t that disturbing? Getting hit once a month, and surely some of them will be bigger.
Is there more “debris” present at Lagrange points, such that by stationing the JWST there, it is likely to be hit by “micrometeoroids” often?
(Quotes, because 1. If it’s not in Earth orbit, is it really a meteoroid? 2. I’m not sure what constitutes debris at a Lagrange point, but I suppose anything with mass will do.)
At one of the unstable points, the concentration of debris shouldn’t be any higher than anywhere else in space.
And it shouldn’t be a concern: The prefix “micro” is there for a reason. Eventually, I suppose, the cumulative effect would be to degrade the optics, but that’s not expected to be significant for a longer time than the instrument’s lifetime (which is primarily limited by stationkeeping propellant).
At L4 and L5, probably, those are the areas that actually tend to collect things.
At L1, L2, or L3, there is not really any sort of “attractive force” towards the point. They are like being at the top of a hill, where L4 and L5 are like being in a valley.
The telescope was designed in part with such impacts in mind. This is from 2017:
(scroll down to the last question)
We know Webb will get struck by micrometeoroids during its lifetime, and we have taken that into account in its design and construction. We sized Webb’s main mirror so that even after years of little impacts it will still have the reflective surface area and quality necessary to do the science. We even did tests on the ground that emulated micrometeoroid impacts to demonstrate what will happen to the mirrors in space.
If it’s debris that’s collected at that point, the impact velocity will be significantly lower than stuff that’s in an ordinary solar orbit.
Stuff doesn’t really collect at the point, but rather orbit around it. Impacts between objects that are co-moving along with the Lagrange point will probably have a bit less relative velocity than random collisions between stuff, but still enough to put out an eye.
Yes. “Earth orbit” plays no role whatsoever in the definition of a meteoroid.
Micrometeroids frequently hit objects in space, but I believe that a good part of the JWST’s vulnerability is its very large mirror that is completely open to space and unprotected. The Hubble mirror, by contrast, can only be hit by particles directly entering the telescope housing and moving parallel to its length, and even so it has a protective door that can be closed during times of higher risk. I imagine that micrometeroids occasionally hit the ISS, but are generally too small to do much if any damage.
Fortunately, as noted, the JWST was designed to tolerate the expected small degradations from micrometeroid impacts. Though the one that knocked a mirror segment out of alignment sounds like an unusually big one.
Yes.
Great! Ignorance fought!
Another 2 instrument modes checked out !!
6 done, 11 to go …