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]
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