Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system and the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. When Giuseppe Piazzi discovered it in 1801, it was the first discovered member of the asteroid belt. Ceres became the first dwarf planet to have a spacecraft visit when Dawn arrived in 2015.
It was previously classed as an asteroid. In 2006, astronomers classified it as a dwarf planet because Ceres is so much more significant and different from its rocky neighbors. Even though it makes up 25% of the overall mass of the asteroid belt, Pluto is 14 times more massive.
New research data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft revealed that this dwarf planet is geologically alive with ice volcanos and surviving pockets of an ancient ocean. When the Dawn was running out of fuel during its final orbit, it collected some instrumental data about Ceres. These close flyby observations show that the Dwarf has briny liquid seeping out of its surface and mounds and hills that most probably formed when the ice melted and refroze after an asteroid impact nearly 20 million years ago.
New research from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research suggests that the bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres’s surface are a type of salt
Now humankind knows that that tiny world is geologically alive. These findings help resolve other mysteries that surrounded the Dwarf for a long. The article presents some fascinating information about it.
Ceres is named after Ceres, the Roman god of corn and harvests. The word cereal is derived from the same word.
Atmosphere
Ceres’ atmosphere is fragile, and there is evidence that it includes water vapor. Ice volcanoes or sublimating ice near the surface could produce vapors (transforming from solid to gas).
Formation
Ceres formed around 4.5 billion years ago; with the rest of the solar system, gravity drew spinning gas and dust into creating a small dwarf planet. Ceres is classified as an “embryonic planet” meaning it began to form but did not fully develop. Jupiter’s powerful gravity kept it from becoming a complete planet. Ceres landed into its current location in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter around 4 billion years ago, among the remaining parts of planetary creation.
Dwarf planet Ceres’ ‘lonely mountain’ mystery has been solved
Size & Distance
Ceres is 1/13 the radius of Earth, with a radius of 296 miles (476 kilometers). It would be around the size of a poppy seed if Earth were the size of a nickel. It is located at a distance of 2.8 astronomical units from the sun (257 million miles, 413 million kilometers). The distance between the sun and Earth is measured in astronomical units (abbreviated as AU). It takes 22 minutes for sunlight to get from the sun to Ceres at this distance.
Rotation
Ceres completes one orbit around the sun every 1,682 Earth days (4.6 Earth years). Ceres’ day is one of the shortest in our solar system because it rotates once every 9 hours. Its rotation axis is only 4 degrees off the plane of its orbit around the sun. This implies it rotates nearly completely upright and has no seasons like other planets with more tilted orbits.
Structure
Ceres is closer to the terrestrial planets than its asteroid companions (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), yet it is far less dense. Ceres is thought to have a solid core and a water-ice mantle, and it could have a water content of up to 25%. Ceres has more water than Earth, if this is right. Ceres’ crust is rough, dusty, and covered with massive salt deposits. The salts on Ceres aren’t like table salt (sodium chloride) but are made up of a variety of minerals such as magnesium sulfate.
Surface
Ceres has a plethora of small, new craters, none of which are greater than 175 miles (280 kilometers) in diameter. Given that multiple massive asteroids must have hit the dwarf planet during its 4.5 billion-year existence, this is astonishing. The lack of craters may be due to ice layers beneath the surface.
If ice or another lower-density material, such as salt, is present near the surface, the surface characteristics may smooth out with time. Some enormous craters may have been obliterated by prior hydrothermal activity, such as ice volcanoes. Some areas of Ceres’ craters are always in shadow. These “cold traps” could have water freeze in them for long periods if they aren’t exposed directly to the sunshine.
It has a 57 miles wide impact crater known as Occator covered with perplexing bright salt spots. Researchers suggested that as recently as 1.2 million years ago, cold underground brine drained out from this crater’s floor and formed salty deposits.
Existence of Life
Ceres is one of the few planets in our solar system where scientists hope to find evidence of life. The Dwarf possesses something that few other planets do: water. Water is necessary for life on Earth. Thus it’s plausible that life may exist there if few conditions are met. The living organisms out there will most likely be very minute germs akin to bacteria. While it may not have any living things today, there may be evidence that it had in the past.
“You have come to make many mothers cry. You are evil; I hate you! It has been a long time since I saw you. But as I see you, you become even more terrible because I know that you are a symbol of the destruction of my country. “
These were the words of an English pastor, Elmer, in 1066 when a Halley comet appeared in the sky. The Halley comet was thought to look like a flaming sword in the night sky, a traditional symbol of war and death. Took as a message of God, that its wrath would soon strike the people. If we look at history, we find several examples of some fictional stories and myths about comets.
History of Comets
As per available history, it was first seen in 87 BC during the reign of Tigers, king of Babylon, who presented it as the new era of kings. Rabbi Musa Ben Nachman, a Jew living in Spain, wrote about it that God takes two stars and throwing them on the Earth to kick start massive flooding.
In ancient Mongolia’s sapphire story, comets were called the “daughter of the devil” and a warning of destructive storms. They were considered responsible for earthquakes, diseases, and red rain whenever they appeared in Switzerland. It was even accused of giving birth to a two-mouthed animal.
The Romans recorded it in the spring of 44 BC. It was said to have appeared for the assassination of Julius Caesar. Caesar was the son of Octavian (Emperor Augustus). It appeared in the sky during Caesar’s funeral. This prominant event was often celebrated in ancient sources as “A star appeared during the day, and Augustus convinced the people that it was for Caesar,” said Enid Virgil. When Emperor Louis witnessed this reappearance, he devoted himself to prayer and repentance. Another comet was accused of excessive bloodshed during the battle between Pompeo and Caesar.
In 912 A.D, Halley’s comet was recorded in Alastair’s Annals which is why it was called “a dark and rainy year. A comet appeared.”
The Chinese astronomer of the Han Dynasty recorded this comet in 12 BC as mentioned in their book “Han”. The Chinese were the first people who started measurements of the orbits comet. According to their calculation, the appearance of three head comet meant a threat to the country, and a four-headed comet meant an epidemic.
Halley’s return took place a few years before the birth of Jesus Christ in 12 BC, which was thought to be the star of Jerusalem. In 1066, the comet was spotted in England and was considered an omen, and the same year the English Herald II died at the Battle of Hastings. After the appearance of Halley’s comet, Genghis Khan was isnpired to turn his conquests towards Europe in 1222. In 1666, when this comet again appeared at the skies, a plague and a massive fire broke out in Britain.
Edmund Halley noted three appearances of the comet from 1531 to 1682.
Halley’s research
Edmund Halley noted three appearances of the comet from 1531 to 1682. A significant development occurred when Halley discussed his views with Newton about laws of motion. Newton also helped Halley to obtain Flasted’s data about the 1682 comet. By studying the data of the comsets appeared in 1531, 1607, and 1682, respectively, he concluded that it was the same comet that appeared repeatedly. He presented his results in 1696.
The word comet comes from the English word “Comenta”, a Greek word means “to wear long hair”. A comet is an icy, tiny body in our solar system.
Structure
When comets pass close to the Sun, they heats up and starts releasing gases, this process is called Outgassing. When Halley’s comet approaches the sun, its compounds with low boiling points, such as water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other ice, begin to rise above the surface of its nucleus.
This causes the comet to form a coma in the ice vapor, releases dust particles, that travel with the gas away from the nucleus. The gas in the coma absorbs the solar energy and then emits it again at different wavelengths.
How tail is formed?
Solar ultraviolet rays ionize the gas molecule in the coma. The pressure from the solar wind, which is a flow of charged particles emitted by the sun, pulls the molecular ions of the coma into a long tail, which can travel a distance of more than 100 million kilometers.
After the 240 BC period of Haley’s orbit around the Sun was found between 74–79. Its orbit around the sun is very elliptical.
Earlier, Aristotle believed that this was due to obstructions in the Earth’s atmosphere. But Edmund Halley, in his summary of the “Astronomy of Comets” in 1705, used Newton’s laws for calculating the effects of gravity of Jupiter and Saturn in Halley comet’s orbit.
He concluded that each of these comets (seen in 1531, 1607, 1682) were appearing after a period of 76 years. He predicted that it would return in 1758. But Haley died in 1742, unable to see his prediction come true.
The comet was seen on December 25, 1758, and was a great triumph of Newton’s laws of motion, and a clear demonstration of their explanatory power. The comet was first named by French astronomer Nicolas in 1759 in honor of Halley.
Halley’s comet was last seen in 1986 and it could be seen in 2061 and then in 2134. But now it wouldn’t take as a sign of God’s wrath, war, or destruction, but an astonishing astronomical sight.
As The great Marie Curie said:
“There is no need to be afraid of anything in life, it is just to understand, now is the time to understand more, so that we are less afraid.”
Soil, water, fire, and wind: Where there’s energy, there’s life. Though a habitable planet supports life, Earth’s capacity to sustain life declines. The exponential rise in the population rate has led to a drastic disbalance in the availability, distribution, and utilization of natural and synthetic resources.
Aware of this harsh reality, scientists have been trying to come up with a solution for the existence of mankind, even if it demands inhabiting a new planet altogether. The Red Planet marks the top list. Let’s peak in and see if Mars is really the savior.
The reservoir of hidden water
A considerable amount of water has been found in the Valles Marineris canyon, the largest canyon in the solar system. Valles Marineris canyons are landscapes found along the Martian surface (Mars equator).
This discovery by “The European Space Agency’s ExoMars orbiter” is a game-changer that indicates the possibility of sustaining life on Mars. The discovered water is primarily in the form of ice and is believed to cover an area of approximately 15,830 square miles.
Valles Marineris, at Mars, the largest known canyon in the solar system
Alexey Malakhov, a scientist at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, also stated on this discovery, “We found a central part of Valles Marineris (Candor Chaos) to be packed full of water — far more water than we expected.”
Basically, an instrument called “Trace Gas Orbiter’s (TGO) Fine-Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND)” detected a significant amount of hydrogen, along with oxygen, that forms water. One of the reasons Earth is habitable is the availability of water, an essential need of living organisms. The possibility of water prevalence on Mars hints at possible life on Mars in the past.
The prevalence of hydrated mineral streaks on Mars also shows the possibility of inhabiting the planet. Mars is smaller, has less gravity, and has a thick atmospheric blanket compared to Earth. This means that the water evaporated, and less of it came back on the surface of Mars, leaving behind salty streaks.
In 2011, these salty streaks, or Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL), were observed via a High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and appeared dark in color. Though seen occasionally, they seemed to be salty water lakes running down the surface of the Red Planet.
Underground Lakes on Mars
Subsurface water at the Southern pole was another potential water source predicted to prevail on Mars. Scientists employed the European Mars Express spacecraft to confirm its presence, which used its Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) for detecting the proposed water presence.
This technology basically works by penetrating a radar underground that sends pulses to the surface. The time taken for radar pulses to be reflected underground and reach back to the surface of Mars is observed. This technology enabled the discovery of three topographical bodies, interpreted as underground lakes, each of approximately 6 miles.
Moreover, further analysis of already existing data provided by MARSIS led scientists to conclude that there are multiple radar reflections just as those observed for the plausible underground lakes, but they cannot confirm if these bodies are actually underground frozen lakes. This uncertainty lies in the fact that these possible underground lakes are not frozen, which is confusing.
The white region is the icy cap that covers the south pole of Mars
Aditya Khuller, a doctoral student at Arizona State University, and MARSIS co-principal investigator Jeffrey Plaut, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, are currently working on the mystery of the proposed underground lakes at Mars, intending to find concrete evidence that would explain the episodes of radar pulses.
Is there light at the end of the Tunnel?
Atmosphere comprising primarily carbon dioxide, approximately 40% of Earth’s gravity, small size, and cold temperatures (-63ºC) are premier reasons why inhabiting Mars is a challenge. In addition, the transition from Earth to Mars is an arduous task.
There are numerous questions: How could men construct colonies at Mars and obtain drinking water? How will men grow food for feeding the population? How would humans manage life at such a low temperature? The list of questions is never-ending.
Furthermore, it is not easy to land humans on Mars. The voyage can take around 150-300 days, depending on the distance between two planets at the time of launch and the viability and efficiency of rockets (fuel used, machinery needed, maintenance required).
The size of Mars restricts the number of living individuals it can support, which means that a mechanism is needed to classify the group of people that will end up on Mars. It is a tedious task to select individuals who will be given another chance at life on a new planet with the current population.
Ideally, the people landing on Mars should be skilled individuals with different backgrounds (scientists, engineers. doctors, teachers) with no underlying health conditions. The selection process of these individuals can cause chaos and unrest among the rest of the population.
Additionally, establishing a settlement viable for mankind at Mars is demanding. Brainstorming is needed to find ways to transport construction material to Mars, keeping in mind the pressure changes, temperature changes, radiation exposures, and other environmental conditions at Mars compared to Earth.
Growing plants and rearing animals is another challenge as the surface of Mars needs to be modified to support such activities. Hydroponics or aeroponics plants are an alternate, but in practical terms, their maintenance and acclimatization of the atmosphere at Mars to produce maximum output is complicated. A substantial amount of food reserves and oxygen supply is required till the former and latter are acquired on Mars.
Although there is evidence for water on Mars’s surface, the accessibility of water for human use is an area of expertise. Mainly, salty streaks of water are found to be purified for consumption. The amount of water readily available at Mars is not pure. This could pose a potential problem regarding water accessibility and utilization for the individuals who will colonize Mars.
A Step forward for finding potential solution for colonizing Mars
Scientists across the World and at NASA are stepping forward to find potential long-term solutions to the complications associated with inhabiting Mars. One of the initiatives is the MOXIE experiment on NASA’s Perseverance rover that aims to utilize the abundant carbon dioxide on Mars and convert it to oxygen for respiration.
Additionally, scientists are working on improving the range and sophistication of laboratory experiments and performing initial tests at Mars, especially on making the inhospitable areas of Mars hospitable.
For food production, scientists are gearing up to introduce particular microorganisms that photosynthesize in low natural illumination. This would create a great blend of gasses required for breathing.
At International Space Station (ISS), scientists are maneuvering potential functional microorganisms that have the tendency to survive and reproduce in climactic alien conditions as present on Mars.
Theoretically, the idea of colonizing and inhabiting Mars seems reasonably achievable, but practically it is far stretched. Numerous studies modified and upgraded technological developments, experimentation, and analysis are required to cross out all the concerns related to life on Mars. If mankind achieves its goals, it could undergo a tremendous living experience on a new planet.
“Only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible” – Jeffrey Fry.
Humans have been fascinated by the limitless space from the beginning. It makes one wonder what lies in outer space. NASA has played a critical role in making us understand outer space more effectively.
The documentary “The Farthest”, directed by Emer Reynolds, encompasses the achievements of all the brilliant scientists and engineers who played their part in sending Voyager 1 & 2 into space. Voyagers I & II were launched into space in 1977. At that time, with limited technology, this launch was considered the most successful feat of humankind to reach outer space.
The Voyager 1 reached Saturn and its moon Titan, a billion miles away from the Earth in 1980. While Voyager 2 reached Uranus and Neptune in 1986. In 2012, first time in human history, Voyager 1 (a man-made object) crossed the solar system and entered interstellar space. Voyager 1 is still going beyond infinity and sends signals to Earth. Meanwhile, Voyager 2 is on its way back to Earth.
Voyager 1 spacecraft has a golden disc enclosed in both vessels that contained greeting messages in various languages of Earth, different pieces of music from cultures around the globe, and diagrams. These were sent in space to connect to living beings in outer space if there is any.
Launched in 1977, NASA’s epic Voyager missions revolutionized our understanding of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their spectacular moons and rings. In 2012, Voyager 1 left our solar system.
The documentary released in 2017 covers interviews of several scientists and team laypersons who contributed to creating the golden disc. One of the engineers named Linda Morabito shows her excitement as “I had the first evidence of active volcanism beyond Earth”. This was when she got the signal from Voyager showing volcano eruptions on Jupiter.
The Farthest took a whole three decades to formulate and display the most up-to-date information about the journey of both Voyager spacecraft. It shows how space science is stimulating and enthralling.
The journey that took about 40 years is described by an imaging specialist, Brad Smith, as “We did something really, really great”. We thanked NASA, the director, scientists, engineers, and experts involved in the project and made this mission possible. We tapped the potential technology in the 1970s and explored the universe beyond our solar system.
Voyager 1 spacecraft has a golden disc enclosed in both vessels that contained greeting messages in various languages of Earth, different pieces of music from cultures around the globe, and diagrams. These were sent in space to connect to living beings in outer space if there is any.
At one point, this documentary makes you feel proud. Humans planned such a feat of reaching farthest and consequently accomplished it. The imagery used in the documentary shows the beauty of the outer planets in our solar system. The documentary is packed with facts, stats, and exquisite visuals as well.
The documentary is not only captivating from an informational point of view, but it also put such a powerful, unexpected emotional impact on the viewers. It grabs the viewer’s senses from start to end and gives hope to the future of space exploration.
The Farthest is an engaging, inspirational documentary that leaves viewers in awe. I will highly recommend this documentary to all space sciences enthusiasts —A must-watch for those who wander into space.
More often than not, mankind gained knowledge of the universe the same way a child learns about society. Just like a growing child progressively becomes of the larger units of human organization— Family, neighborhood, city, and so on. Astronomers have slowly endorsed the hierarchical arrangement of the heavens. So, the astronomers come up with the idea of extraterrestrial life to find the possibility of the existence of life beyond Earth.
A few mind-blowing questions have been asked throughout the history of astronomy are, can life exist beyond the Earth? If so, what form might it likely take? Are there other solar systems like ours? And how many solar systems are in our Milky Way galaxy?
Further findings for extraterrestrial life (ET-Life) led to an entirely new branch of science—Exobiology, though we cannot find exact answers so far.
There is still a sizeable discussion about the origin of extraterrestrial life. In the early 20th century, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius proposed the “panspermia theory”, according to which life on Earth did not stem here but was brought by some of the meteorites that collided with Earth. Though this idea never met much support due to the complexities, it further resulted. Later, Sir Fred Hoyle revived the idea on his hypothesis; life on Earth originated somewhere in Space and was brought here by a Comet. This idea was too mere support because whole recourses of Space were mandatory rather than a restricted area like planet earth.
Photo, Exoplanets & Planetary Astronomy
In carrying out practical research for the extraterrestrial life on other planets as in our solar system, the scientists had to be dependent on the space research method, so the world, like the moon, might rule out at once. Venus is also ill-suited in every quarter since the giant and closest planet to the Earth has no solid surface. Saturn’s satellite Titan and Enceladus seem good candidates for ET-life since all ingredients of life are evident there. But the shallow temperature appeared to preclude them.
We left with only one candidate—Mars, which has always been regarded as the possible abode of life. After a decade’s long research and analysis carried out by NASA’s multiple Mars rovers, scientists still lack confidence that they could colonize Mars in the future.
Astronomers, therefore, shifted their search to beyond our solar system and have discovered dozens of potentially habitable planets in other solar systems—called “Super-Earths” concerning extraterrestrial life. In February 2017, they caught another solar system—Trappist-One, quite similar to our solar system and had seven earth-sized planets in its habitable zone. Since then, the researchers came across plenty of places that could park as men’s first interstellar colonies.
To date, astronomers have discovered more than 3200 stars with planets orbiting them in our Milky Way galaxy. But, our planetary system is the only candidate named “Solar System”. Our Sun is of the about 200 billion stars in our galaxy. So, one couldn’t disregard the possibility of more such planetary systems waiting to be discovered.
With the recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), mankind enters into a new era of discoveries in astronomy. JWST is a giant, most complex, and powerful telescope ever built. A substantial fraction of the JWST observing programme will be devoted to studying exoplanets and their atmosphere.
JWST will most likely briefly study our home planetary system, like the atmosphere of gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, and closely analyze the ice giants Neptune and Uranus. Its great sensitivity will enable the identification and characterization of comets and icy bodies in the outermost region of our solar system.
On the historical launch of JWST, Scientia Pakistan brings its exclusive edition with the theme “Solar System”. We have got exciting stories on Space and the human body, an analysis of research at ISS, the Tiny world Ceres, possibilities of colonizing Mars, history of Comets, Rings of Saturn, the historic launch of JWST, Parker Solar Probe, and a documentary review on The Farthest, and much more.
We have reached out to Pakistan’s astronomy circle and interviewed Astrophysicist Faisal-ul-Rehman, and an ambassador to Dark skies, Rayan Khan.
Summing up, this edition will be an excellent entertainment for astronomy enthusiasts worldwide. Have a fantastic read!
The universe we know today is immense, both in size and time. It contains hundreds of billions of galaxies. And yet, there was a time when there were no stars and no galaxies. We are a curious species, so we want to know the unknown: when did the first stars light up the universe? When did some of the extensive collection of stars first assemble into galaxies? And how do stars and planets form in the first place?
There is a genuine excitement for those interested in these questions as a phenomenal new telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has launched into space on December 25, 2021, and has successfully reached its destination point Lagrange 2, a million miles from earth in 29 days.
JWST’s home, Lagrange 2 point. Photo, NASA
Telescopes have altered the way we think about our place in the cosmos. It was only a little over 400 years ago that Galileo pointed a small telescope to the skies and found splotches on the sun, mountains on the moon, and observed that Venus goes through phases just like our moon.
But the most amazing discovery was that of four never-before-seen objects. Instead of the Earth, they orbited Jupiter. This was stunning. It helped overthrow the existing view of Earth being at the center of the universe. Today, we know that these are the four largest moons of Jupiter.
But this was just the beginning. We are now accustomed to hearing about the discoveries of asteroids, exploding stars, strange galaxies, and even the faint murmurs from colliding black holes. The most famous telescope has been the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, which revolutionised astronomy.
It took many iconic images. But I was blown away by the Hubble Deep Field. I was in graduate school at the time the image was taken. The telescope had stared at a small portion of the sky, about 100th the size of the full moon, for over 140 hours. Astronomers did not know what they would find in this seemingly blank piece of sky.
The result was astonishing! Hubble revealed this tiny patch on the sky to be full of galaxies. Every little smudge is a galaxy containing tens of billions of stars. Some of these galaxies are very young and so far away that their light started its journey when the universe was less than a billion years old.
But can we find some of the very first galaxies, perhaps only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang?
This is where the JWST comes in. It is a marvel of creativity and human ingenuity. The work on this telescope started 25 years ago. Most of the technology that went into building the telescope had to be invented and the cost soared to over 10 billion dollars.
It is a worthy successor of Hubble. The main mirror of the Hubble Telescope was about 2.4 meters in diameter. In fact, astronomers use the diameter of the primary mirror to describe the size of a telescope. The mirror of the JWST is 6.5 meters across. This means that it has five times the light gathering ability of Hubble!
One big difference is that JWST will only look in the infrared spectrum, light that is not visible to humans. But it can provide crucial information about the universe. Don’t worry, those infrared images are still going to be turned into beautiful images to be appreciated by human eyes. Hubble, on the other hand, worked primarily in visible light.
The JWST will be located about 1.5 million km from Earth, much further than the distance between the Earth and the moon. Such a distance will allow the telescope to be shielded from the infrared glow of the Earth and will keep the instruments very cold, something that is required for it to work with high sensitivity. The telescope is also equipped with a light five-layer sun-shield, the size of a tennis court, that will provide added protection from the heat from the sun.
The telescope mirror itself is a combination of 18 hexagonal mirrors. They are made up of beryllium with a fine coating of gold. Beryllium was picked as it is stiff and yet ultralight, and it can retain its shape even in the cold temperatures of outer space. Light reflects off gold with higher efficiency than most other elements. Since light is the primary currency for astronomers, a gold coating is simply worth the price.
If something goes wrong, and I am already trembling while writing the sentence, the telescope is too far for any astronaut mission to fix it. However, the engineers have provided the telescope with the ability to shake and shimmy. There is some comfort in knowing that, when all else fails, our own solution to fixing a toaster or a television set is not that different from a cutting-edge instrument exploring the universe.
The first images from the telescope are expected in six months. But what do we expect to see?
One of Hubble’s deepest images of space led astronomers to the discovery of well-formed galaxies going back only 400 million years after the Big Bang. Most theories predicted a much longer time for the formation of the first galaxies.
The detection by Hubble was a fluke. The expansion of the universe would make the light from these young galaxies shift predominantly to the infrared (this is called the Doppler effect and we have all experienced it in sound waves when the pitch of an ambulance increases on its approach to you and then decreases when it is moving away from you). The instruments on the JWST should be able to detect the population of these nascent galaxies and allow us an insight into the processes through which galaxies grow and develop. In fact, it may even find the indirect signatures of the very first stars that lit up the universe.
There is more to discover in our own galaxy as well. Stars like our sun are born in clouds of gas and dust. The beautiful Orion Nebula in the winter skies is a stellar nursery. However, the same gas and dust absorb much of the visible light and hide the details of the birth of these stars. But infrared light peers through dust. Through its infrared eyes, JWST is expected to lift the veil of dust and allow us a peek at the processes that not only form stars but also the planets around them.
Then there are the exoplanets — planets that orbit other stars. During the last 25 years, astronomers have identified more than 4,000 exoplanets! An astounding number. In fact, one of the exoplanets has officially been named by Pakistan. Called Perwana, it orbits a star now named Shama. But we don’t know if any of the exoplanets are suitable for life. The JWST will be able to identify the composition of the atmospheres of some of these planets.
It will not detect life directly, but it will be able to see if elements such as methane, water, and carbon dioxide are present in quantities that may support life as we know it. One of the first targets of the telescope will be the Trappist-1 system that hosts at least seven Earth-sized planets. Three of these are in the habitable zone, meaning that they orbit the star at a distance where water can exist in liquid form on the surface. Now the JWST will have a chance to give us the first look into these alien atmospheres.
We all have busy lives. We are also inundated with news about politics, wars, and, lately, about the devastating pandemic. But for a change, let’s take a moment to appreciate the imagination and creativity that has gone into the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope. All for the purpose of answering some of humanity’s fundamental questions about our origins.
The article originally published in EOS, Dawn, reshared with the permission of the author.
The vastness of space charms everyone and many of us probably dreamed of becoming astronauts at one or many points in our lives. Such is the fascination of that which lies beyond our beloved earth. But little do many people realize that being an astronaut is probably the toughest job in the world or should we say ‘The Universe’. Only the toughest of the toughest both in terms of physical and mental aspects are selected. Being fit and skilled enough to go into space is just the beginning since the actual test of the human body and brain begins thereafter since space is vast, cold, harsh, and inhospitable.
This piece will cover the challenges faced by the human body in space and what lies ahead for us.
An illustration of how does space affects the human body.
EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY
FROM EXTREME GRAVITATIONAL FORCE TO ZERO GRAVITY
When humans leave the earth in capsules/shuttles piggybacking on rockets they are exposed to extreme gravitational energy of the earth since the energy is equivalent to the energy with which the rockets are blasting upwards through our atmosphere. The bodies of the astronauts are subjected to these ‘G’ forces which can even cause unconsciousness/blackouts.
Once in space, the lack of gravity is what they are exposed to in their space vehicle or the space station where they dock. This zero ‘G’ can have varied effects on the human body, we are used to earth’s gravitational pull ever since we are born. Astronauts can experience nausea, light-headedness, and disorientation to which they get used to overtime. The same ‘G’ forces plus the heat are also experienced by astronauts when they re-enter in earth’s atmosphere.
2. CHANGE IN MUSCLE AND BONE PHYSIOLOGY
Weightlessness has effects on human bones and muscles. Since the body needs to sense pressure and weight-bearing on muscles and bones in order to maintain normal strength and composition. In the absence of gravity, the body senses no weight bearing on the bones, muscles, and joints.
As a result, it considers them not necessary to maintain in terms of nutrition and growth. Thus, the muscles, bones, and joints start to waste. There the calcium is taken up the bones, muscles grow thin and the high calcium and other chemicals in the blood can result in other consequences as well. To counter this, astronauts on the International Space Station ( ISS) undergo regular fitness sessions where they work out on machines that ‘tie them down’ in zero gravity so that they can work out.
3. EFFECTS ON SLEEP
Astronauts on the ISS as it is in continuous low orbit around the earth experience 16 sunrises and sunsets during 24 hours. This may sound fascinating to see but it greatly interferes with the sleep mechanisms of the body. Since our brains & bodies are tuned to the gradual fading of sunlight and release of the ‘melatonin’ hormone which facilitates sleep, the many sunrises and sunsets astronauts experience impairs the whole process.
Plus, the extreme noise aboard the station doesn’t help either. How do they counter this? They follow the Greenwich meantime as a time zone for day and night and are allocated 6-8 hours of sleep per day. They sleep in sleep-cabins the size of telephone booths mostly vertically, weightless (yes vertically!), and use earplugs and eyeshades. Sleeping does prove to be challenging in space.
4. EFFECTS OF RADIATION
This is by far the most important health hazard faced by astronauts. Skipping the technical stuff, cutting long story short, radiation in space is composed of highly charged particles that can run through matter unhindered. Examples are X rays, Gamma rays, Galactic cosmic rays. The sources are stars, quasars, and also our sun (solar flares especially). These are called IONIZING since they basically just run through matter and change the atomic structure of matter. This is what our bodies experience when getting an XRAY or CT scan imaging done.
Obviously, we don’t actually feel anything physically in space and our atomic/molecular structure does get disturbed when exposed to such high-energy particles. Imagine being exposed to 100s and even thousands of X rays during stay aboard the ISS. This can cause acute radiation sickness much like which can happen in cancer patients who get radiation therapy. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, and skin changes. Long exposures can lead to increased risk of developing cancers, brain degeneration diseases, damage to the heart and blood vessels and the list goes on.
5. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Space is lonely especially since the astronauts are confined to small spaces with people who they have to get along in functional terms for months. It takes a heavy toll on a person’s mind living in such an environment on earth let alone in the emptiness of space. Astronauts are trained beforehand for such a situation while on earth and are adept at handling tough mental conditions.
Working in coordination with colleagues putting aside any differences while at the same time having the thoughts of loved ones at home. Put this on repeat for months or even years when humankind ventures farther into space. It may put a heavy toll on mental health.
6. EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN, VISION & OTHER SENSES
Space flight and its hazards especially radiation may lead to damage to the areas of the brain which are concerned with memory, both old and new. It has been observed in studies that astronauts who travel to space develop structural changes in the brain as seen by MRI. The changes are proportionate to the number of visits to outer space. Astronauts develop problems with the balance due to disturbances in the balance organs of the internal ear. They also report changes in taste while being on space missions. Vision is a sense of ours that is prone to be lost especially during future long-duration missions in space (as MARS missions).
Due to zero Gravity and reduced blood supply to the eye during space travel, the eye as an organ may start to reduce the perception, and eventually, vision may diminish leading to blindness. This is a serious risk that astronauts may face. However, all is not bleak. A study conducted in 2020 showed that a few Russian astronauts who spent time on the ISS had developed new motor skills and correspondingly changes in the structure of the brain. Showing that the brain has the ability to adapt to the alien environment of space and its habitat1.
What happens to the human body in a space flight or living at ISS?
ASTRONAUT EXPERIENCES
Up till Jan 2022, almost 600 astronauts from 41 different countries have been in space. With their duration of space varying. The longest individual duration in space is logged by Valeri V. Polyakov, a Russian who spent 437 days in space on the SOYUZ missions in 1994. The longest total duration logged by an astronaut is 878 days, by Russian Gennadi Padalka from 1998 to 2015 in different missions.
A Tragedy struck the SOYUZ 11 mission to the Russian space station SALYUT-1 ( first space station in earth orbit ) in 1971. When three Astronauts ( Cosmonauts as the Russians call them) Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev died during the return trip to earth. The capsule returned to earth but when the hatch was opened, they were found dead and the cause of death was ascertained to be suffocation due to a faulty seal in the capsule leading to rapid decompression.
A survey by NASA on 300 male and female astronauts showed that 49 % of long flight astronauts had near and distant vision problems during the missions. Some even admitted to the problems persisting for years afterwards2. Considering the exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation in space it is predicted that astronauts will be suffering from effects when they return.
However, recent studies show quite surprisingly no relation with the doses of radiation to which astronauts were exposed and proposed cancer and cardiovascular deaths3. This probably has to do with the increasingly fit physical condition of the astronauts are in and the aggressive health surveillance for these they undergo. Space vehicles and space suits with increased protection against ionizing radiation (dampening them though not elimination risk) probably reduce the exposure.
Diagnostic techniques will probably be needed which will detect DNA damage in response to radiation and interventions done immediately with nanobots. These bots will detect the damage and instantaneously correct the defects.
The same cannot be said when we will embark on long-duration missions like one to Mars where the low dose exposure for a longer duration may lead to health complications. Studies conducted on astronauts who had been to the moon (APOLLO missions) concluded that they were dying mostly of cardiovascular diseases.
Although the deaths from cardiovascular mortality were higher in lunar astronauts, the sample size was small and there was no ‘statistical difference’ from the general population but considering that astronauts are in peak physical condition this may be alarming and pointing to radiation & weightlessness probably being contributive towards developing serious health conditions.
Space exploration now entering an exciting new era now after so many satellite missions now deployed in and beyond our solar system (Voyager 2). We will eventually have to ensure that humans can travel across long distances in space with as little harm as possible to their bodies. The following could be ways forward.
ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY AND SHIELDING
Using the principle of centripetal force any space structure when revolving around its axis can generate artificial gravity and this may be extremely useful in dampening the effect of zero-G on humans. Gravity on earth certainly has profound effects on our lives than just giving us solid footing on earth.
Since we as species are in tune with the gravitational force of the earth, being without its influence especially when traveling across larger distances (take for example to Mars for starters) may be harmful to us any countless ways. Which probably we will find out when we finally set sail for planets beyond the moon. Gravitational field generators on space crafts will be another alternative to provide the necessary attractive force.
Radiation exposure as previously mentioned is probably inevitable in space. Though the exposure can be minimized by an appropriate lining of the space crafts (lead is used for shielding). The harmful effects of ionizing radiation may be reduced but the hazard cannot be eliminated.
And how much exposure will cause disease and harm is yet to be known when we travel long distances. Individual genetic variations may exist as to how much radiation may result in effects in different individuals. This will need extensive research when our interplanetary exploration commences.
NANOTECH AND FURTHER ADVANCES
Space travel across long-distance is and may not be as simple as is shown in science fiction. Such travel will need humans to be resistant to the harsh environment of space. Humans will need to be ‘upgraded’ probably by genetically enhancing our genetic makeup to face radiation poisoning, to reduce our need for sleep, and perform efficiently during the long haul.
Astronauts would probably be genetically tweaked to lose the stress and fear response so that they would remain calm. During space travel, medical teams with expertise in highly advanced medicine will need to be on board to make sure that medical issues are taken care of. Diagnostic techniques will probably be needed which will detect DNA damage in response to radiation and interventions done immediately with nanobots. These bots will detect the damage and instantaneously correct the defects.
Stem cell procedures would have to be developed and polished before embarking on long space travel. So that when the need arises to deal with organ failure/cancer diagnosis, stem cell techniques would regenerate tissues/organs during space flight.
Finally, cryogenic sleep is one highly stylized and fictionalized concept in modern film and Sci-Fic literature. We might eventually need it to put whole crews into hibernation during long-distance travels in our solar system initially and then maybe even beyond!
Bibliography
Jillings, S., et al. (2020). “Macro- and microstructural changes in cosmonauts’ brains after long-duration spaceflight.” 6(36): eaaz9488.
Elgart, S.R., Little, M.P., Chappell, L.J. et al. Radiation Exposure and Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer in Early NASA Astronauts. Sci Rep8, 8480 (2018).
Delp, M., Charvat, J., Limoli, C. et al. Apollo Lunar Astronauts Show Higher Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: Possible Deep Space Radiation Effects on the Vascular Endothelium. Sci Rep6, 29901 (2016).
Earth is an incredible place, bursting with wonders and mysteries. Researchers and wildlife photographers continue to show us how amazing life on our planet really is. In 2021, amid increasing climate changes, disasters, and the urge to social distancing due to COVID19, when sometimes coverage of new science discoveries seems impossible, researchers mesmerized us with some astounding news.
Here are a few animal discoveries that got attention in 2021.
Some of these creatures have the astounding capability of detaching their head part from their bodies, and then the head grows a new body. Most slugs do this when their previous body has been infected with life-threatening parasites.
Aldabra Giant Tortoise at tropical island in Seychelles. Photo Katiekk2
Giant tortoises
These animals may look subtle and soft from their appearance, but they can prove you wrong once hunting is concerned. A video shows their savage behavior as a tortoise chomps down a baby bird fell to the ground. An interesting fact about tortoises is that they are solitary roamers, which means they become independent of their mother as soon as they hatch and explore the world all by themselves.
An elephant had sprayed himself with mud. Photo Andrew Rice South Africa
Elephants
Somehow these animals look gigantic and clumsy, but they can use their trunks extremely tactfully and with cunning dexterity to do basic tasks like picking up things or twisting things, etc.; their trunks might look big and powerful. Still, they can manage to hold and pick up small and delicate things without damaging them. The elephants’ trunks have almost 40,000 muscles, making it their main organ for smelling, breathing, touching, and grabbing things.
A parrot named Bruce captured our hearts with its charm this year. Despite his beak being broken, he has learned to cope with life by using several different tools to help himself. An example is how he scraps hard food against other objects to soften it and make it easier for itself to eat.
Birds are literally always on the hunt for anything they can find to build their nests. From twigs and leaves to tiny pebbles and straws, they can use almost anything for building their homes. One such group of birds called Pharids stole hair from dogs and inculcated them in their nests!
Dr. Mubashir Husain Rehmani, a Pakistani origin researcher from Munster Technological University (MTU), Ireland, has been selected for inclusion on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ 2021 list from Clarivate.
Dr. Mubashir’s work focuses on wireless networks, blockchain, cognitive radio networks, smart grids, and software-defined networks. He has written over 132 peer-reviewed articles, of which 11 feature among highly cited articles by Clarivate. His performance in this context features in the top 1% in Cross-Field. More precisely, in the domain of Computer Science, Telecommunications, and Engineering. His research work has been recognized internationally, and he is the recipient of several best paper awards. The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields by publishing multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index.
This year’s list includes 24 Nobel laureates, including five announced this year. Also included are 77 Citation Laureate: individuals recognized by Clarivate, through citation analysis, as ‘of Nobel class’ and potential Nobel Prize recipients.
Below are excerpts of his recent conversation with our Chief Editor Saadeqa Khan.
Saadeqa: Let us know about your early life and education in Sindh? What was your primary motivation to you for becoming a world-class researcher?
Dr. Rehmani: I was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. My early school education (Matriculation) was from Gulshan-e-Iqbal Secondary School. I did my intermediate (FSc) from Government National College, Bahadurabad, Karachi.
My motivation for becoming a world-class researcher is to achieve excellence in my field of research so that my parents, my country Pakistan, and Muslims, in general, are proud of it and I can show that our religion does not stop us from acquiring scientific knowledge.
Saadeqa: Would you like to share an unforgettable experience of life that influenced your career?
Dr. Rehmani: It was the last semester of my Engineering Degree when I attended a bayan (sermon) and I was so excited to leave my studies and start learning about Islam. Though in the sermon, nobody asked to leave my studies but due to my personal feelings, I thought to leave my studies and start learning about Islam. Before making this decision, I thought to consult with a Mufti sahib (Mufti Muhammad Naeem Memon Sahib) and when I shared this intention then Mufti sahib suggested I forget about leaving my studies and instead fully focus on my studies. That was an unforgettable experience of my life and I believe that whatever I am now is just because of that correct guidance given to me by Mufti sahib at that time.
My personal work has contributed in many directions in my fields of expertise. Photo Credit Mubashir Rehmani
Saadeqa: What is the significance of the top 1% list issued by the Clarivate?
Dr. Rehmani: Clarivate is a kind of regulatory body within research. No matter how much research is done worldwide, and where it is published, this organization monitors these publications or journals and only makes lists after ensuring quality.
At present, there are about 18,000 to 20,000 science journals in the world. Each year Clarivate controls their impact factor and also issues details about their quality. In 2021, they collected data of researchers and scientists from the last tens years; their number is around 8 million. Then they arranged the best of them field-wise and selected the top 1 percent for each field.
In 2020, only 124 computer scientists worldwide could get in this category out of thousands of computer scientists. Clarivate ensures that the scientist doesn’t claim false or try to misguide in the wrong direction. Also, that scientific research should not last for one or two years, but he has written more research articles for a long time and those should be among well-cited ones.
Saadeqa: Would you please share details of your highly cited research papers in 2021?
Dr. Rehmani: I have several highly cited papers in 2021. These highly cited papers were on the topics of blockchain, privacy preservation, energy trading, smart grid, and cognitive radio. These papers were published in top-ranked journals in the field of Telecommunications, Computer Science, and Engineering.
Saadeqa: Do you encounter obstacles in your life and career? How do you manage, and what will you suggest for young researchers in Pakistan?
Dr. Rehmani: Yes, of course, I encountered obstacles in my life and career, and each passing day, I face new challenges. I try to discuss each of these challenges with elders and get advice from experienced persons in my scientific domain and try to follow the right path. Once I requested a piece of advice from Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani sahib and he suggested I do “رجوع الی اللہ”, i.e., always try to seek help from Allah against all difficulties and challenges, to seek to please Him, to seek protection and forgiveness from Him, and to be grateful and humble to Him.
My suggestion for young researchers in Pakistan is that they should always follow the right path, do not look for shortcuts, and never ever compromise on ethical principles.
Dr. Rehmani has several highly cited papers in 2021. Photo Credit, Mubashir Rehmani
Saadeqa: Your major research work is in wireless networks, cognitive radio, IoT, and blockchain. Which of them do you enjoy working on the most?
Well, I enjoy working on cognitive radio and blockchain.
Saadeqa: What contribution do you think your personal work has provided to your fields of expertise?
Dr. Rehmani: My personal work has contributed in many directions in my fields of expertise. Here, I mention a few: For instance, my work (a) helps to address the wireless radio spectrum scarcity problem, (b) helps to protect the critical infrastructure such as smart grid (or simply the electricity grid) from cyber attacks, (c) helps to protect the privacy of users, (d) improves the detection of stomach cancer, and (d) addresses the energy harvesting problem.
Saadeqa: What are the challenges and future research directions in blockchain specifically concerning privacy preservation?
Dr. Rehmani: From the perspective of privacy preservation in blockchain, the identity of mining nodes is still a challenge and there is a need to propose new mining solutions that protect the privacy of miner nodes. Similarly, achieving the balance between privacy-utility trade-offs is still an open issue and work is required in this area as well.
In order to forge scientific reasoning and thinking in Pakistani society, researchers and scientists need to focus on education and public engagement (EPE) activities.
Saadeqa: Let us know about the latest developments and challenges in the IoT?
Dr. Rehmani: In the Internet of Things (IoT), there are numerous latest developments. First, with the massive deployment of IoT devices, one can see these IoT devices in every field of life ranging from the health sector to industry, and from food provenance to smart agriculture. Second, with low-cost hardware, new applications are envisaged. Third, with the incorporation of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the computing capability of these IoT devices has improved. However, these massive deployments of IoT devices bring some challenges as well. For instance, how to manage this huge data being generated by these IoT devices?
Moreover, how can authentication of these IoT devices be done in an efficient manner? Since IoT devices are memory and energy-constrained, how complex machine learning algorithms can be executed on these devices? One of the important challenges is that these IoT devices will be everywhere and monitoring fine-grained details, thus, they will also increase the attack surface and thus require a lot of work to protect these devices from potential cyber-attacks.
Saadeqa: Pakistan’s telecom market has been struggling for a long time due to inadequate infrastructure. Foreign investment plays a vital role in its growth. Still, the process is doomed. What could be an effective strategy in this regard?
Dr. Rehmani: Currently, I don’t have sufficient experience in policymaking, thus, I prefer not to comment on this.
Saadeqa: What do you think are the primary reasons our educational institutions fail to nurture scientists? What are the essentials to forge scientific reasoning and thinking in Pakistani society?
Dr. Rehmani: If our educational institutes want to compete globally and want to be internationally recognized, then they need to follow and adopt the same scientific standards and metrics which are internationally recognized, and acceptable. Moreover, our educational institutes should design and develop policies that promote quality research and discourage unethical practices in scientific research.
In order to forge scientific reasoning and thinking in Pakistani society, researchers and scientists need to focus on education and public engagement (EPE) activities. In developed countries, it is essential for scientists and researchers to engage in such EPE activities to explain their complex scientific research to the general public and school students in simple words. The same practice can also be performed in Pakistan and this will help to develop scientific thinking in the long term in Pakistani society.
Saadeqa: What are your future targets to achieve and research plans for 2022?
Dr. Rehmnai: My future plans are to focus on my research work and try to excel as much as I can. More precisely, I will try to publish my research work in the world’s top-ranked scientific journals in my domain.
It all started with Galileo making one of the first telescopes and changing the view of the church and the world, the father of modern observational astronomy. Today, humans having the urge to look back in time, to ask our questions of our own origin, the earliest stars, the first formations galaxies, and the creation of the universe itself is the uttermost curiosity we all seek. We are the species of present times, we want to know what was it like when the time began itself? This Christmas, we launched the most expensive and breakthrough telescope of mankind, the $10Bn James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Northrop Grumman engineers lower the James Webb Space Telescope segment onto the shield and spacecraft. (NASA/CHRIS GUN)
Almost 25 years, were spent in the construction of this time machine, the telescope is the most difficult telescope ever built, the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The telescope is made of two mirrors; primary being 6.5 meters of 18 hexagonal, segmented gold-plated beryllium mirrors and secondary being beryllium of rounded shape, unlike the primary mirror. The reason that every mirror is 0.12 ounces gold-plated is to increase the reflection of mirrors as naturally, the beryllium doesn’t have very efficient reflecting characteristics. So, that is what the JWST’s camera would capture or see.
A thin layer of gold on each of the JWST’s 18 mirror segments reflects mostly infrared light. (Drew Noel/NASA)
An illustration showing the mirror size comparison between HST and JWST.
The sensitivity of JWST can be realized that it contains a huge 22 by 10 meter cover of Kapton Sun-Shield, as the eyes of the telescope will be observing the infrared wavelength, which requires protection from the sun, earth, moon, and its own heat radiation, for cool and smooth operations. The observatory will remain in shadow all the time, for efficiently collecting the light from the deep space.
The five-layer sun shield will keep the sunlight from interfering with the sensitive JWST instruments. (Northop Grumman)
Interestingly, if we compare the JWST with its predecessors; Hubble and Spitzer, the JWST will observe the universe in a different wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum. Hubble operated in the visible spectrum, Spitzer was in far-infrared-near but JWST will observe the universe from slight visible to whole to mid-far-infrared (Ranging from 0.6 – 28.3 microns). This is due to the conversion of wavelengths of the oldest objects within the universe, as with time the wavelength increases to what we call “redshift”. It’s for what began in the universe as blue light, would reach us as invisible infra-red radiation.
Diagram showing the different wavelengths ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum of Hubble, JWST, and Spitzer. (NASA)
Sophisticatedly, the telescope will be operating in less than 45 degrees Celsius but above absolute zero – so that its own heat does not interfere for us to detect the most fainted stuff in the space, hence with its shield, it will live in ice-cold darkness.
An engineer standing by the primary mirrors of the JWST.
The telescope has to go through immense challenges once, it sits on the huge Ariane -5 rocket from getting folded to function in space, it has to reach its orbiting/working position, which is Lagrange point – 2, a point in space where the gravity of the sun and earth-moon system balances each other so that it can have its shield facing the sun – this is a distance of around a million miles away. According to NASA, there are almost 344, possibilities of critical-single points of failure for the JWST before it reaches L2. It will take around 29 days to reach there and then undergo the unfolding of mirrors and instruments, optical aligning, testings, and calibrations, from now it will begin observations of the universe in around six months, we can unravel the secrets and unknowns.
An infographic showing the Lagrange Point – 2, the orbit of the JWST. (NASA)
It’s worth remembering that the JWST was supposed to launch a decade ago in 2010, but delayed till 24th Dec 2021, its constructions and testing went huge failures, many new technologies were invented in this struggle of mankind, which raised huge questions even on its name and the delays made the space community exhausted, but people argue that it happened the same with its predecessors – Hubble, but it was all worth it, Hubble changed our view of the universe, and gave us unimaginable knowledge and data, a lot has to be remeasured with JWST, the earliest stars – which were thought to be made of -hydrogen and helium only, the first galaxies, the new value of the Hubble constant which gives us the expansion rate of the universe, a lot of new science has to be done, the studies on the dark matter. Finally, we are now waiting for the JWST’s results as it was the best Christmas and new year gift from science to humanity.
The James Webb Space Probe leaving for L-2 after detaching from the Ariane-5 rocket.
Massive efforts were made by NASA, ESA, and CSA as thousands of scientists, engineers, and technicians from 14 countries contributed to build, test, and integrate JWST. In total around, more than 250 different companies and universities participated from all over the world. It’s an international collaboration. Starting from the launch site repeating ‘nominal’ during the launch of the JWST, confirming that everything is going as planned till the Arian-5 rocket’s fairing is released and JWST starts heading toward its destination.
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