At the time of this post, the telescope’s temperature was approximately -200°C on the shade side in a 60°C on the sunny side.
Since JWST monitors infrared light, it is important that the telescope is as cool as possible to avoid noise in the signal. Hence the sunscreen: to absorb a lot of heat. The telescope temperature will decrease slightly by itself, then the temperature will decrease by active cooling 7 degrees Kelvin (-266 degrees Celsius). If you’re not familiar with Kelvin: The Kelvin scale has the same Celsius scale: that is, one degree Celsius is also one degree Kelvin warmer, but point 0 is in a different place. 0°C (273°K) is the temperature at which water freezes at sea level. 0 K is often called “absolute zero” because 0 K is the coldest thing a substance can be. So 7 degrees Kelvin equals 7 degrees Celsius / Kelvin is above 0 degrees Kelvin.
Therefore, the shade side becomes 7 degrees warmer than the coldest possible temperature according to the natural sciences. I can’t imagine how warm the sunny side was.
Live temperature readings can be found here: https://www.jwst.nasa.gov…bbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html
[Reactie gewijzigd door Dexcuracy op 4 januari 2022 22:34]
“Coffee buff. Twitter fanatic. Tv practitioner. Social media advocate. Pop culture ninja.”
More Stories
Which can cause an increase in nitrogen.
The Central State Real Estate Agency has no additional space to accommodate Ukrainians.
The oystercatcher, the “unlucky national bird,” is increasingly breeding on rooftops.