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NASA to kick off holidays with Christmas Day telescope launch
NASA is scheduled to deliver a shiny present to the astronomy community on Christmas Day.
NASA, in collaboration with its counterparts in Europe and Canada, will be launching the James Webb space telescope 25 years after it was first announced, reported ABC News.
The James Webb telescope will succeed the Hubble Space Telescope. It will be using its state-of-the-art technology to explore new worlds.
The telescope will operate much farther than any other telescope, roughly 1 million miles away from Earth. It weighs half as much as the Hubble Telescope and specializes in infrared astronomy.
NASA said the instrument can "observe exoplanets located in their stars' habitable zones, the regions where a planet could harbor liquid water on its surface, and can determine if and where signatures of habitability may be present."
Here's everything you need to know about the launch:
The telescope will take off in the Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The scheduled launch window is between 7:20 a.m. and 7:52 a.m. ET, according to NASA.
Following the launch, the telescope will undergo six months of commissioning in space, which includes "unfolding its mirrors, sunshield and other smaller systems; cooling down; aligning; and calibrating," NASA said.
NASA has a blog that updates readers on the project's progress and will provide up-to-the-minute updates on Christmas.
NASA will also be live streaming the launch on several platforms, including its website, YouTube page, and other social media accounts.
The footage will include video from the launch site and the control center in Maryland.
NASA is also inviting fans to sign up to be a free "virtual guest," which includes "information about highlighted mission activities and access to curated mission resources."
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