Iconic James Webb Space Telescope at Space Expo
Starting March 10, 2026, you can admire a 1:10 scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at Space Expo: the most powerful space telescope ever built! The JWST looks back more than 13.5 billion years in time, showing us what happened shortly after the Big Bang. The telescope provides answers to burning questions about the origin and evolution of the universe.
The JWST is the result of an international collaboration between NASA, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency and various commercial partners. On December 25, 2021, the JWST was launched into space.
The JWST was designed to answer questions that previous space telescopes, such as Hubble, could not answer. For example: how do stars and planets form in clouds of dust and gas? What do planets outside our solar system look like? What happened during the era of the first galaxies?
Looking with infrared light
To find answers to the questions above, we need to look further and deeper into the universe. The JWST can do this by making infrared light visible. This light penetrates dust clouds, revealing what is happening inside or behind these nebulae.
The James Webb is a reflecting telescope that uses mirrors to collect and focus infrared light. Reflecting telescopes often consist of one large mirror that captures the light and a smaller mirror that reflects it toward the appropriate instruments.
The JWST's signature primary mirror has a diameter of 6.5 meters and consists of 18 hexagonal segments. Each segment can be adjusted with extreme precision so that they work together as one perfect mirror. Thanks to a thin layer of real gold, the mirrors reflect infrared light exceptionally well.
A special place in space
The telescope is located at Lagrange point L2. This is a special position in space, 1.5 million kilometers behind the Earth (as seen from the Sun). From here, the telescope has an excellent view of the universe. Thanks to its large heat shield, the telescope remains cold (-233 degrees Celsius).
As big as a tennis court
Space agencies always try to build telescopes as large as possible to capture as much light as they can, but they still have to fit inside a rocket! The JWST is 20 meters long and 14 meters wide, about the size of a tennis court. Engineers therefore enlisted the help of origami experts to design a clever folding system, allowing the telescope to fit inside the Ariane 5 rocket.
New discoveries
The telescope has now been in space for a few years and not without results! It turns out that the universe is developing faster than expected. The telescope also shows how stars and planets are born and what substances and elements they are made of. Incredibly valuable information!
At Space Expo, you can admire a scale model of the JWST up close. Many thanks to ESA for making this special object available!
in je inbox
Op de hoogte blijven van al het ruimtevaart nieuws?
Blijf op de hoogte van alles wat er speelt bij Space Expo. Ontvang het laatste nieuws, ontdek nieuwe tentoonstellingen en krijg als eerste updates over bijzondere activiteiten en evenementen. Zo haal je nog meer uit je volgende bezoek.
.jpg)
