How high or low can you get your telescope magnification? The answers depend on many factors that combine to give each telescope a useful magnification range. Illustration by Kevin Sartoris / Sky & Telescope These include the atmosphere, telescope optical system, and our eye - and telescope magnification can make all of the difference. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.The complete observing experience involves overcoming several impediments that lie between the starry heavens and the view we have of them. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. I hope everything works properly when it's all set up.Ĭopyright © 2021 NPR. PALCA: But they're going to be really interesting. PALCA: And so it's great to be able to say, oh, we're going to find things we didn't know. But, Scott, the really amazing thing is every time you use a new piece of equipment like this, you learn something you weren't expecting. They're also going to be able to look at exoplanets and possibly look into the atmospheres of exoplanets to see whether there is possibly the kind of atmosphere that would be acceptable for life. PALCA: Well, this is a spacecraft that should be able to see how some of the earliest stars and galaxies formed. And for the instruments to work properly, the spacecraft has to be as cool as possible. This is a spacecraft that's looking at light in the infrared. And the other thing is the spacecraft has to cool down. And then there are 18 hexagonal mirrors, and they all have to be tuned exactly - positioned exactly properly to get the best - to get the most accurate picture. PALCA: Well, as I say, there's a lot of unfolding to do. SIMON: And when will - when's it going to be operational? And so if you park a spacecraft there, it doesn't need a lot of energy to stay put. PALCA: Well, that turns out to be a really sweet spot gravitationally because it's between the Earth and the sun. SIMON: And help us understand, why the exact goal of orbiting a million miles away from Earth? Anxiety that's going along just to get this thing ready for operations. I mean, there are something like 300 points of failure along the way before this thing is fully unfolded and operational, and they all could end the mission. So there are many, many, many steps in the unfolding process, and they're all critical. In order to fit on top of the rocket, it had to be folded up like a piece of origami, essentially. PALCA: Well, this is now a long process of getting this space telescope ready for operation. And you can hear the excitement in everyone's voices. Scott, the most amazing thing is that right afterwards, there was a picture of the Webb taken from the upper stage, a live picture of this thing sailing off into the - or gliding off into the - in space. JEAN-LUC VOYER: (Speaking French) Webb Space Telescope. And that was a critical maneuver, and everyone waited anxiously for the call from range operations manager Jean-Luc Voyer. Springs were supposed to give the Webb a final shove on its way. And the last step in the launch process was for the telescope to separate from the upper stage. The trajectory - they had a line on a screen that, you know, was the planned trajectory, and they had the actual trajectory. Solid rockets worked well, main engine worked well, upper stage worked well. The rocket disappeared into the clouds pretty quickly. The launch was at 7:20 this morning from French Guiana. You know, these are really complicated pieces of equipment, and they all have to work properly. PALCA: Oh, my gosh, Scott, it was stunning how well everything worked. JOE PALCA, BYLINE: Oh, you're very welcome. It will take unprecedented measurements of the universe and possibly help answer that most fundamental of questions - how did we get here? NPR's Joe Palca joins us. SIMON: The James Webb Space Telescope is headed for a spot a million miles from Earth. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: And we have engine start, and lift off. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking French). The most sophisticated space telescope ever built was launched today from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana.
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