The Beauty of Webb's Mirrors

  • Released Tuesday, January 23, 2018
  • Updated Monday, March 19, 2018 at 2:53PM
  • ID: 12775

Webb telescope's mirrors are coated with a very thin layer of gold to improve their ability to reflect infrared light.

Webb telescope's mirrors are coated with a very thin layer of gold to improve their ability to reflect infrared light.

Webb's secondary mirror captures light from the 18 primary mirror segments and relays those images to the telescope's tertiary mirror.

Webb's secondary mirror captures light from the 18 primary mirror segments and relays those images to the telescope's tertiary mirror.

Webb’s tertiary mirror captures light from the secondary mirror and relays it to the fine-steering mirror and science instruments.

Webb’s tertiary mirror captures light from the secondary mirror and relays it to the fine-steering mirror and science instruments.

The beauty of Webb's primary mirror is apparent as it rotates past a cleanroom observation window at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

The beauty of Webb's primary mirror is apparent as it rotates past a cleanroom observation window at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

For More Information

See https://jwst.nasa.gov/mirrors.html



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Primary Mirror Segment Cryogenic Testing Image Credit: NASA/MSFC/David Higginbotham

Gold-coated Engineering Design Unit (EDU) Primary Mirror Segment Image Credit: Ball Aerospace/Drew Noel

A Clear Reflection on the Webb Telescope's Secondary Mirror Image Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

James Webb Space Telescope Tertiary Mirror Image Credit: Ball Aerospace/Ben Gallagher, Quantum Coating Incorporated

May 4th - Goddard Takes a Selfie in JWST Image Credit: John Mather



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