The James Webb Space Telescope, planned to launch in October 2018, is a long way from the tube with lenses that was the first telescope.
Why It Matters
- A telescope lets you see things that are far away.
- Galileo Galilee had a very primitive telescope; he could see about as well through his telescope as we can through a pair of binoculars.
- Isaac Newton made a telescope with mirrors instead of lenses, as Galileo was planning to do before he was imprisoned.
- The Hubble Space Telescope has shown us incredible features of our universe.
Show What You Know
With the link below, learn more about telescopes. Then answer the following questions.
- SciShow, From Kepler to Webb: The History of the Telescope (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChDGRhpAwA
- What is wrong with lenses in telescopes?
- Why did astronomers need to put telescopes into orbit so they could better see into space?
- Why did astronomers say they most wanted a telescope to see into the infrared? How will this be accomplished?
- What will we learn from the Webb telescope?