University of Texas-Austin astronomers will be among the first in the world to use NASA's brand new, $8.8 billion telescope after it launches in 2019 -- a piece of technology they say will "revolutionize all areas of astronomy."
The James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, has been under development for decades.
And with less than two years until its expected launch date, the Space Telescope Science Institute (the science operations center for the Hubble and Webb telescopes) in Baltimore has released the list of the first 13 projects that will test the telescope in space. UT-Austin's Steve Finkelstein found himself, and his Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey, on that list.
"This will be the first time anyone has had access to this brand new telescope that is in some ways 100 times better than Hubble," said Finkelstein, an associate astronomy professor at the university. "This telescope will reveal enormous truths the moment we turn it on."
The CEERS will build upon Finkelstein's previous work with the Hubble telescope of examining the oldest galaxies in the universe as a way to understand how quickly stars formed into the galaxies and how they evolve overtime. More than 100 astronomers from 10 countries are involved in the project.
Finkelstein said Webb will allow astronomers to see galaxies as they existed 13.4 billion years ago. His project will take place in the telescope's first five months of science operations, likely to begin in late fall, early winter 2019.
"To be among the first to use it is incredible," he said, adding that his research will take 62 hours to complete.
Other projects chosen include an examination of Jupiter and its moons and weighing supermassive black holes, according to NASA. UT-Austin researchers are involved to some degree in five of the 13 projects.
"We were impressed by the high quality of the proposals received," said Ken Sembach, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, in a Nov. 13 NASA web update. "These observing programs not only will generate great science, but also will be a unique resource for demonstrating the investigative capabilities of this extraordinary observatory to the worldwide scientific community."
Projects will receive funding, but Finkelstein said they have not yet been told how much. Up to $5 million has been allotted for all 13 projects, he added.
Webb is projected to launch in spring 2019 from Kourou, French Guiana and is expected to carry out its mission for 5 to 10 years. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, NASA's second administrator who lead the Apollo space missions that landed the first humans on the moon.
Unlike Hubble, which launched 27 years ago and orbits the earth, Webb will orbit the sun 1 million miles away from earth. Hubble mainly observes visible light, while Webb will operate in the infrared, enabling it to study some of the faintest, youngest galaxies.
Using Webb, "we will discover the most distant galaxies ever seen — galaxies that were literally invisible to Hubble," Finkelstein said.
This month, nearly 100 days of cryogenic testing -- to ensure the telescope functions as intended in an extreme cold and airless environment -- was completed at Johnson Space Center.
But the telescope still has many steps before it can be launched into space. It now will be transported to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California, where it will be "integrated" with the spacecraft, which make up the complete observatory. The entire observatory then will undergo more testing, the last exposure to a simulated launch environment before flight, according to NASA's website.
The Webb telescope is an international project lead by NASA in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
Alex Stuckey covers NASA, science and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or http://ift.tt/1bNCYqd.
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