The strategy that humanity has always used to reveal history and knowledge in space is
by constructing great observatories.
For instance, because of the Hubble Telescope, we now know that the universe is 13.7 billion
years old.
We received proof of the existence of dark matter from the Chandra Telescope.
We made use of the Compton Telescope to obtain a comprehensive image of the Milky Way's galactic
center.
With the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope, we were able to find one of the oldest stars.
It makes sense that these telescopes were all referred to as the legendary telescopes
of NASA.
All of them were put into operation between 1990 and 2003.
We cannot deny the fact that their important discoveries have helped mankind, however,
none of them has ever been able to locate the light of alien lifeforms.
The discovery of life in neighboring stars is something that other telescopes have not
been able to make.
Scientists believe it is time for another telescope to make this discovery - the James
Webb Space Telescope.
In this video, you'll learn everything about the James Webb Space Telescope, including
why it hides from the sun and whether it has a possibility of finding artificial lights
from extraterrestrial civilizations.
What are you waiting for?
Let's begin another journey into the universe!
James Webb has been under development for more than 20 years by NASA, the European Space
Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
We must first know the equipment that made up the James Webb Space Telescope.
It has a segmented mirror with a six-and-a-half meter diameter.
Specifically, it consists of 18 segments of a mirror with a hexagonal shape.
The entire surface area of the mirror for light capture is 25 square meters, with each
of them measuring almost a meter and a half in diameter.
Webb will be able to obtain incredibly clear photos because of the light captured by this
mirror.
The primary rule to achieve this is that it must stay cool and away from the heat coming
from the Earth and the Sun.
For this reason, the Webb was equipped with a large heat shield that has five layers of
thermal insulation material and aluminum covering.
The primary function of the shield is to keep the temperature of the telescope's main mirror
and its scientific instruments below 200 degrees Celsius, shielding the telescope from heat
flows and cosmic radiation.
However, there is an issue; due to Webb's size being too big, it presented challenges
to launch into orbit.
Because of this, scientists found a way to launch it like origami.
Yes!
You heard it correctly!
To be launched into orbit, the telescope will be stuffed into the Ariane 5 Rocket.
It will then unfold once it enters space and will remain there for at least five years.
If it performs similarly to Hubble, it can continue operating in orbit for more than
30 years.
However, Webb won't need that much time to begin seeing significant improvements.
Although it weighs 113 kilograms less than the Hubble, it can detect light in a way that
the Hubble cannot.
Now consider that a Dyson Sphere is spinning somewhere in the cosmos.
In a theoretical aeronautical engineering project called a Dyson Sphere, a metropolis
with a million artificial lights is constructed around the star that provides the system's
electricity.
Although the presence of such a structure is doubtful, Hubble could find it if it existed.
The key distinction between this and Webb is that Webb can perceive objects that are
considerably less bright and do so fast.
However, where will Webb look for them?
Before we answer it, I just want to remind you that if you've made it this far in the
video, you're clearly enjoying it.
Give it a like, subscribe so you don't miss anything, and let us know what you think in
the comments section.
We can say that telescopes are similar to time machines.
It’s not like they can literally travel back in time, but they can detect light from
distant galaxies that formed immediately after the Big Bang.
For instance, the Hubble telescope was able to witness what the universe was like 400
million years after the Big Bang.
Additionally, the Planck observatory was able to discover the Cosmic Microwave Background
or CMB radiation that happened 400,000 years after the Big Bang.
However, there is more between this and James Webb's capabilities.
James Webb will be able to gaze at the opposite side of the Milky Way, something the Spitzer
telescope was unable to accomplish, and will be able to determine what galaxies were like
during the first three percent of space history.
These are merely Webb's creators' approved plans, however additional results are also
anticipated.
No one ever imagined that Hubble might find one of the universe's oldest galaxies, since
it lies at the extreme limit of what the Hubble could see, yet Hubble did.
Because Webb is a hundred times more powerful than Hubble, scientists anticipate that there
will be even more surprising results.
They believe that it can detect more civilizations since it can see much dimmer light.
We don't know if aliens might be any less intelligent than how they are portrayed in
movies and television shows as highly advanced, like-minded beings.
Let's imagine aliens only recently learned how to create and manage fire, or perhaps
we'll be able to find them right after they've invented some sort of gas lamp.
The question is: will the Webb be able to detect any of these artificial lights they
produce?
The fact that Webb will explore the universe in the infrared spectrum sets it apart from
other telescopes.
What's the big deal, then?
Well, the light waves from far-off stars and galaxies take a very long time to reach us.
Because of this, their light becomes too thin, turning into the infrared and being invisible
to human eyes.
Unlike visible light, infrared light may penetrate through dense areas of gas and debris.
Therefore, Webb will be able to determine the locations of the vast dust clouds from
which stars and planetary systems formed.
The James Webb telescope has all the equipment needed to operate in space.
First, it has a near-infrared camera, which is designed to capture images of dull objects
in close proximity to intense light sources.
Webb can see and investigate the earliest stars and galaxies as they were forming with
the use of this camera.
Second, the near-infrared spectrograph, its purpose is to examine about 100 spectra concurrently.
Because of this tool, the telescope can learn about an object's physical characteristics,
such as temperature, mass, and chemical composition, by evaluating its spectrum.
Third, the telescope also has a mid-infrared instrument that will reveal physical information
about far-off celestial objects.
It will enable Webb to find far-off galaxies and barely perceptible comets.
The thing is Webb must point exactly in the right direction and stay in the right orbit
in order to accomplish this.
Fourth, engineers have fitted the telescope with a high guidance sensor, an image-producing
device, to ensure that it will be able to perform the task.
In addition to this, there is a scientific tool called the near-infrared imager that
will enable a telescope in its search for signs of the universe's first light and its
exploration of exoplanets.
Other than the James Webb, no telescope has ever had a wide range of such equipment.
As though someone in space keeps hiding it, scientists are obsessed with finding artificial
light in space.
They believe that it’s the key to finding other creatures.
But what if aliens really exist in their own universe, each with their own James Webb,
and were also searching for us?
The head of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
Avi Loeb, is a well-known cosmologist who strongly believes that it’s possible for
Webb to provide evidence for the existence of life on Proxima Centauri b.
Proxima has been the key target in the hunt for extraterrestrial life because of the sound
blasts that originate from that area.
The red dwarf star Proxima Centauri is seven million kilometers away from the planet.
The star’s brightness is just right, making Proxima receive the right amount of heat from
the star for water to exist on it.
Many believe that water is a sign of life in any place.
According to Loeb, the night side of the Proxima is much more likely to have an advanced civilization
than the day side due to the high radiation flux.
Consequently, lighting is required on the night side.
Because the presence of artificial light could indicate the presence of an extraterrestrial
life form, scientists are looking for any instances of it.
In turn, astronomers attest to Webb's perfect ability to detect this light.
In comparison to what it could conceivably be on Earth, James Webb can detect artificial
LED lighting that is five hundred times more powerful.
All of this points to one thing: when somebody on Proxima's dark side lights a single LED,
Webb will be able to detect it, and humankind will have its first indication of extraterrestrial
life.
Do you ever consider the possibility that rather than us looking for life with telescopes,
we are the ones being looked for?
How far can their planet’s light be seen from our planet?
Do they also have telescopes of their own to find us?
Let us know in the comments section.
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