The second of the four major scientific instruments of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, known as the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), has completed its post-launch preparations and is now ready for science.
The last MIRI function to be tested was the coronary imaging feature, which uses two different styles of masks to intentionally prevent stellar light from hitting its sensors as it tries to observe the star’s planets in orbit. These custom masks allow scientists to locate exoplanets directly and study dust disks around their host stars in a way that has never been done before.
Together with Webb’s other three instruments, MIRI initially cooled off in the shadow of Webb’s tennis court-sized tennis court at about 90 Kelvin (minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 183 degrees Celsius). To perform the intended science meant dropping to less than 7 Kelvin — just a few degrees above the lowest temperature that matter can reach — using an electric cryo-freezer. These extreme operating temperatures allow MIRI to provide mid-infrared images and spectra with an unprecedented combination of sharpness and sensitivity.
“We are excited that MIRI is now a functional, state-of-the-art instrument with performance at all potentials better than expected. Our multinational outsourcing team has done a fantastic job preparing MIRI in just a few weeks. Now we are celebrating all the people, the “Scientists, engineers, directors, national agencies, ESA and NASA, who made this instrument a reality as MIRI begins to explore the infrared universe in ways and depths that have never been achieved before,” said Gillian Wright. MIRI is a lead researcher in Europe at the UK Astronomy Technology Center and George Rieke, Head of Science MIRI at the University of Arizona MIRI was developed as a collaboration between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), with the NASA to lead US efforts and a multinational consortium of European astronomical instruments contributing to ESA.
With the completion of NIRISS and MIRI activities after launch, the Webb team will continue to focus on controlling the other two modes of operation in its other institutions. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, in collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA, will publish the first color images and spectroscopic data on July 12, 2022.
The coldest instrument of the James Webb telescope reaches operating temperature
Reference: Another Webb telescopic instrument takes the “go for Science” (2022, June 30) retrieved on July 1, 2022 from
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