So just how powerful will the James Webb Space Telescope be?

Set to launch in 2014, can someone outline JWST's specs in laymen terms?
I mean will we be able to see small rocks on our moon? What about little alien houses on a planet in Alpha Centauri? Just what kind of power are we talking about here? Do you think there might be some super powerful tech on there not yet revealed to the public? I mean it still has 4 years to go and technology has been increasing like crazy the past decade.


en.wikipedia.org...

[edit on 26-4-2010 by genma]

I hope it at least can or can't see the lunar rovers.

We need to get that discussion over once and for all.

Well, it's not an interferometer, so I don't think it will be able to see little blue men running around Pandora (which is supposed to be at Alpha Centauri), or their homes.

With an interferometer with a very wide separation between imaging mirrors, like thousands of miles, you could probably get a very detailed pictures of earth-sized planets around stars even quite far away. The dream is that even within our own lifetimes we'll have one of these out in space and we'll be getting back pictures of little blue/green in orbit around some nearby star. Something like that would be very possible, but the Webb observatory isn't quite there, yet. Still, this will be a very exciting mission.

reply to post by Grey Magic


We have already photographed the Lunar modules. Also if you wanted to see the lander's with a telescope, you would need a Mirror that would have to be at least 100 meters wide, to see such small items on the surface of the moon.

Here is a photo from the recent LCROSS misson. The probe recently orbited the moon before crashing into the surface. It clearly shows, the Apollo 14 lunar module.

But of course it is a photo NASA took. So it must be fake and hoaxed to support the Apollo landings!!!!!(sarcasm)

www.popsci.com...

The James webb telescope, should offer us more clarity on far off Galaxy's. Also since, Hubble managed to take a picture of a Exo Planet, i reckon the Webb telescope will allow us to see smaller planets. I cant wait to see Webb's Ultra Deep Field.

doesn't matter how powerful it is, we'll only see what they want us to see and keep all the good stuff to themselves. matter fact the stuff they show us now can be seen with 1970's technology.

reply to post by genma


Taken directly from the JWST Nasa site:
www.jwst.nasa.gov...

Will Webb see planets around other stars?

The Webb will be able to detect the likely presence of planetary systems around nearby stars from their infrared radiation. It may even be able to see directly the reflected light of large planets - the size of Jupiter - orbiting around nearby stars. It will also be possible to see very young planets in formation, while they are still hot. Webb will have coronagraphic capability, which blocks out the light of the parent star of the planets. This is needed, as the parent star will be millions of times brighter than the planets orbiting it. Webb will not have the resolution to see any details on the planets; it will only be able to detect a faint light speckle next to the bright parent star. Webb can only see large planets orbiting at relatively large distances from the parent star. To see small Earth-like planets, which are billions of time fainter than their parent star, a space telescope capable of seeing at even higher angular resolution will be required. NASA is studying such a space mission, the Terrestrial Planet Finder.

[edit on 26-4-2010 by big_BHOY]