NASA's James Webb Telescope leaves Earth to 'unfold the universe' from space

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space telescope ever constructed, left the earth on December 25, from the Guiana Space Center, South America. The instrument hitched a ride on the Ariane 5 rocket and now has been separated from its upper stage booster to head towards its orbit at the second Lagrange point, 1.5 kilometres away from the Earth.

Upon the launch of the James Webb Telescope, NASA tweeted, "We have LIFTOFF of the NASA Webb Space Telescope! At 7:20 am ET (12:20 UTC), the beginning of a new, exciting decade of science climbed to the sky. Webb’s mission to #UnfoldTheUniverse will change our understanding of space as we know it. (sic)" 

According to NASA, the telescope is safely in space, powered on, and communicating with ground controllers.

The revolutionary instrument provided a new era of astronomical exploration as it was lifted skyward by an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Webb is the successor to the Hubble Telescope, which is named after one of the architects of the Apollo Moon landings. 

About James Webb telescope

The revolutionary world’s first-of-its-kind space-science observatory of the next decade will capture the earliest galaxies believed to have formed during the early universe’s formation. The new telescope will help scientists to probe the structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.

Webb can also probe the atmosphere of distant planets which will help scientists to learn about planets and understand if any way habitable.

(Image: ESA)