James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
JWST is a space telescope enabling observations that are limited from the ground. In Descienced it is an anchor for instruments, data quality, and cosmic context.
astronomy.telescopes
Metrics
Primary Mirror Diameter
Segmented mirror made of 18 beryllium hexagons with gold coating.
Orbit (L2)
JWST orbits the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, about 1.5 million km from Earth.
Launch Date
Launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre (French Guiana).
Mass
Total mass approx. 6,500 kg including sunshield and instruments.
Relations
Explanations
The JWST is a space telescope with a primary mirror 6.5 meters wide that orbits 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. This incredible distance allows it to observe things that would be impossible to see from ground-based telescopes because Earth's atmosphere and light pollution get in the way. Since its launch on December 25, 2021, it has been sending back unique data from the cosmos.
Sources
Offizielle NASA-Seite mit technischen Spezifikationen des JWST.
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Provenance
Status
seed
Review
none
Last Updated
2026-02-16