A GIGANTIC space contraption is gearing up to scan alien atmospheres and peer back to the dawn of time.<\/p>\n
The James Webb Space Telescope is due to launch next year and will be the most powerful telescope ever built.<\/p>\n
Put together by Nasa and aerospace company Northrop Grumman, the $10billion (7.6billion) machine has been plagued by delays and setbacks.<\/p>\n
However, it appears it's finally on track to head into space in 2021, giving scientists the chance to \"look into the past\", according to its creators.<\/p>\n
\"Over the last few years, we were working in two halves,\" Northrop Grumman's Scott Willoughby told reporters last month, according to Fast Company.<\/p>\n
\"Until the summer of last year, they were in a very long engagement, and they got married,\" he joked.<\/p>\n
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\"We put the two halves together to create an observatory. Were celebrating that success.\"<\/p>\n
The project has taken 24 years to complete with the help of thousands of scientists and engineers.<\/p>\n
These experts come from 24 countries across three space agencies Nasa, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency.<\/p>\n
Orbiting nearly 1million miles from Earth and measuring four storeys high, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will scan light from stars and galaxies.<\/p>\n
It can peer 13.7billion light-years (that's about eight with 22 zeroes afterwards in miles) through space because it's orbiting extremely far from Earth.<\/p>\n
For most space telescopes, Earth's thick atmosphere obscures readings but the JWST won't have that problem.<\/p>\n
One of the probe's goals is to find new planets outside of the Solar System and scan their atmospheres for signs of aliens.<\/p>\n
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Specifically, it will look for oxygen on alien worlds, one of the key ingredients for life as we know it.<\/p>\n
The JWST will also \"look back in time\" by scanning light given off by extremely distant galaxies and stars.<\/p>\n
This ability to \"time travel\" is based on the fact that even light has a speed limit.<\/p>\n
The further you peer into space, the more time has passed since the light you are looking at set off on its journey towards you.<\/p>\n
So if a star explodes 6billion light-years away, the light from the event will take 6billion years to reach Earth effectively allowing us to see through time.<\/p>\n
Professor Alistair Glasse, of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, said: \"Light takes a finite team to reach us because it doesn't reach our eyes instantly.<\/p>\n
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\"The further away an object is, the longer that light has been travelling before we detect it.<\/p>\n
\"With the telescope we can look as far away as the edge of the visible universe.<\/p>\n
\"The age of the universe is about 13.5billion years and we can say light has been travelling that long before it reaches us.\"<\/p>\n
JWST is three times larger than its predecessor the Hubble telescope and 100 times more powerful thanks to its vast gold-plated mirror.<\/p>\n
The massive primary mirror, stretching 21ft across, is made up of 18 hexagons each the size of a coffee table and weighing 46 lbs.<\/p>\n
The beryllium components are coated with a fine film of vaporised gold to bounce infrared light into the sensor equipment.<\/p>\n
Unmatched infrared sensitivity will help astronomers understand how galaxies assemble over billions of years.<\/p>\n
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In other news, a Nasa photo last week revealed a mysterious hole in Mars that according to scientists may house alien life.<\/p>\n
A supersonic 990mph Nasa X-planeas quiet as the \"thump of a car door\"is nearly ready.<\/p>\n
And, Nasa recently revealeda surreal photo of Earthtaken from 4billion miles away.<\/p>\n
What do you think the James Webb Telescope will find? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here is the original post:<\/p>\n Mind-blowing Nasa James Webb Space telescope will look 13.5billion years BACK in time - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A GIGANTIC space contraption is gearing up to scan alien atmospheres and peer back to the dawn of time. Continue reading