HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Before we hop into talking about the James Webb Telescope, let me tell you a little bit about its predecessor; The Hubble Space Telescope.
The Hubble was launched into orbit around the Earth back in 1990.
The Hubble has made millions of observations and snapped many iconic photos over the years but none quite as clear as the new James Webb Telescope.
"Light that was emitted in the visible, say 13 billion years ago, by the time it gets to us here - the universe is stretched out to the point that it's in the infrared," said H Philip Stahl, Senior Optical NASA Marshall Physicist.
The Hubble can capture images that are visible to the telescope.
While the Webb telescope can use infrared waves to cut through some of that static.
"The infrared can see through the dust that the visible cannot see through," said Stahl.
Although this has been an exciting advancement for all humankind, the science and space communities are particularly thrilled.
"I make and build telescopes for astronomers and for me, the most exciting thing about the telescope is that it works," said Stahl.
Especially people like Astrophysicists, like Chien-Ting Chen with USRA.
"It's a good time to be doing astrophysics when a telescope as powerful as James Webb is being launched."
Astrophysicists, according to NASA, aim to discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars.
"Every time we have new instruments, it kind of opens up new windows of discovery. The details that we're seeing in these images alone, are those we haven't seen before," said Chen.
Now back to the headline, the James Webb telescope has ties to Huntsville as well!
"All of North Alabama participated in the design in the manufacture of the Webb Telescope. The mirrors were machined in Cullman, Alabama at General Dynamics," said Stahl.
Making The Rocket City an integral part of what exactly makes up the telescope itself.
"The sunshade was made right here in Huntsville, by NeXolve over there in Research Park," said Stahl.
"If you go to a bar and then the people next to you were actually someone who built like, the sunshield or who were responsible for commissioning and all that... It's pretty cool," said Chen.