Friday, November 29, 2013

This Blog's History: Hubble Space Telescope Misconception - Hubble vs. the JWST

Last week in This Blog's History I revisited a post on the misconceptions regarding the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

This week I revisit another misconception regarding the HST.  The HST is currently on its last legs.  There will be no more service missions, so once current equipment and gyroscopes malfunction, the HST will be dead.  There's another big space based telescope coming soon.  The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled to launch in 2018.  The media often describes the JWST as the replacement to the HST, but that is a big misconception.  The two telescopes observe a different type of light:  visible for the HST, infrared for the JWST.  Thus the type of images they take will be very different.  The JWST isn't replacing the HST.  It's simply a new, different telescope that is schedule to launch near the time of the HST's death.  For more details read the original post at the link below.

Hubble Misconception: JWST

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