James Webb Space Telescope vs Hubble Space Telescope; how do they compare?

James Webb Telescope has been endorsed as most complex and most powerful telescope ever built. Before Webb came into existence, scientists from NASA and or ncies mostly relied on Hubble Telescope for cosmic discoveries.

However, latter is w over three deces old and Webb is all set to take over as prime observatory that will uncover unforeseen secrets of universe. In order to have a clear idea of ir capabilities. Let us take a look at what sets m apart and what keeps Webb ahe in exploration game. 

Timeline

Hubble Telescope was launched in 1990 and it has allowed astromers to gar detailed ims of planets and galaxies, and solve many of universe's great mysteries. Hubble has served scientific community for over 30 years whereas Webb telescope is just about to launch on December 24. However, it is worth mentioning that even Webb’s development took deces of development and a budget of nearly $10 billion. NASA states that new telescope has a minimum lifespan of five years which might get extended to ten years. 

(Im: NASA)

Instruments

What is most intriguing about Webb telescope are its instruments which provide it with an edge over Hubble. Webb has four scientific instruments along with a 21-foot-tall mirror that measures 6.5 metre in diameter as compared to a smaller 2.4 metre wide mirror in Hubble. A bigger mirror will offer telescope a bigger collecting area and also provide a wider field of view of universe. While Hubble is size of an aver school bus, Webb telescope, with its fully unfolded heat shields measures equally as a tennis court. 

(Im: NASA)

Orbit

Hubble telescope orbits Earth relatively closer than orbit that has been decided for Webb telescope. Hubble is fixed at an orbit that is just 570 kilometres from Earth whereas Webb will be sent 1.5 million kilometres away at a location called second Lagrange point or L2.  

Area of expertise

While Hubble observes light in Ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelength, Webb has been designed to observe light only in Near- and mid-infrared wavelength. Infrared light is that has travelled billions of kilometres in universe and got stretched as universe expanded over time. Collecting infrared light will help in major cosmic discoveries as se expanded beams will carry information about ir point of origin during early days of universe, thus offering us a peek into past.

Im: NASA