<h2>Space Gaze</h2>
<p>NASA&#8217;s long-term plans for space telescopes are pretty big, in fact, next-generation telescopes will be massive.</p>
<p>There are more than 3,900 confirmed planets beyond our solar system. To know more about these planets, like whether they have oxygen, water, or other signs of life, we need bigger telescopes with very sensitive instruments and mirrors as big as those in observatories on Earth.</p>
<p>Telescopes so massive present new challenges like keeping their components stable enough to get a good look at foreign objects. A new study published this week in the<em> <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/aaf385/meta">Astronomical Journal</a></em> describes a system which would use a second satellite like a laser light pointer to help large telescopes lock on to distant objects.</p>
<h2>Laser Light Show</h2>
<p>NASA is already planning the future of space telescopes. The delay-plagued <a href="https://futurism.com/james-webb-telescope-delayed">James Webb Telescope</a> was designed with a diameter of 6.5 meters and 18 hexagonal mirror segments. Future telescopes may be as large as 15 meters, with over 100 mirror segments. Keeping all of those mirrors aligned at the same target is one of the main challenges for segmented mirror telescopes. The tiniest shift in any component would be enough to throw off measurements entirely.</p>
<p>Now, MIT engineers have proposed using a second, shoebox-sized satellite to act as a &#8220;guide star&#8221; by providing a steady bright light for telescopes to use as a reference point. By placing the light in a telescope&#8217;s field of view, the telescope would be better able to detect any shift in its instruments and stay more securely pointed at its target. Such a system is already possible with today&#8217;s technology and would relax the need for perfection in mirror alignment, saving time, money, and potentially preventing delays like those beleaguering the James Webb Telescope.</p>
<h2>Looking Ahead</h2>
<p>The idea to use artificial light as a reference point takes inspiration from the way astronomers on the ground have been using actual stars for much the same purpose for over a century. This would be the first time a tiny CubeSat might be used to replicate the process in space.</p>
<p>&#8220;The reason this is pertinent now is that NASA has to decide in the next couple years whether these large space telescopes will be our priority in the next few decades,&#8221;said Ewan Douglas, lead author of the paper. &#8220;That decision-making is happening now, just like the decision-making for the Hubble Space Telescope happened in the 1960s, but it didn&#8217;t launch until the 1990s.'&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE: </strong><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/miot-tsc010419.php">Tiny satellites could be &#8216;guide stars&#8217; for huge next-generation telescopes</a> [EurkAlert]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on Telescopes:</strong> </em><a href="https://futurism.com/nasa-testing-telescope-revolutionize-view-cosmos">NASA Is Testing the Telescope That Will Revolutionize Our View of the Cosmos</a></p>


Massive space telescopes might have their own CubeSat fleets.

Tiny satellites could be "guide stars" for massive space telescopes

Off World

A new study describes a system which would use a second satellite like a laser light pointer to help large space telescopes lock on to distant objects. 

Tiny Satellites Could Be “Guide Stars” for Massive Space Telescopes

CubeSats with lasers could guide our gaze into the cosmos.

<p>When you&#8217;re building the largest and most ambitious space telescope ever made, you have to expect that some things will go wrong.</p>
<p>At least, that seems to be the takeaway from a teleconference held by NASA today about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a 6.5 meter (21 foot)-wide telescope that will observe distant space a million miles from the sun, all kept cool by an origami-folded sunshield the size of a tennis court.</p>
<p>That is, if it ever makes it off the ground.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v6ihVeEoUdo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Based on information from the project&#8217;s Standing Review Board (SRB), NASA officials have decided to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-observatory-requires-more-time-for-testing-and-evaluation-new-launch">delay the telescope&#8217;s launch window</a> to roughly May 2020. (In 2011, it was supposed to launch in 2018; in September, officials <a href="https://futurism.com/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delayed-to-2019/">pushed that back to 2019</a>)</p>
<p>Here are four new things you should know about this latest James Webb update, and why we&#8217;re going to have to wait a little longer to get its <a href="https://futurism.com/the-james-webb-space-telescope-will-utterly-transform-our-view-of-the-universe/">unprecedented new view of the universe</a>. But stay tuned, because it&#8217;ll be worth it.</p>
<h2>1. The launch delay is about &#8220;getting it right&#8221;&#8230;</h2>
<p>The primary cause of the delay: to ensure that NASA is as confident as possible before launch.</p>
<p>Since there will be no way of repairing the JWST if something goes wrong out in space, they want to ensure everything is in the best shape it can be before sending it adrift.</p>
<p>&#8220;Simply put, we have one shot to get this right before going into space,&#8221; Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), said during today&#8217;s press conference. &#8220;You&#8217;ve heard this before &#8230; failure is not an option.&#8221;</p>
<p>The recent SRB review evaluated whether JWST would be ready for a May 2020 launch. Its confidence level: 70 percent. That&#8217;s a normal level of confidence for a large NASA project, Zurbuchen and his colleagues said, but another upcoming Independent Review Board (IRB) will seek out additional ways to raise that number.</p>
<p>And yeah, potential budgetary issues are a concern, too.</p>
<h2>2. &#8230;Because things <em>have</em> gone wrong.</h2>
<p>Officials are afraid things will go wrong because, in the nearly twenty years that NASA and associated contractors <a href="https://www.popsci.com/james-webb-space-telescope-is-now-ready-for-final-tests-before-launch">have been building the James Webb</a>, things <em>have</em>.</p>
<p>Some of the most recent delays were associated with errors. Like when they discovered that the sunshield&#8217;s tension-creating cables were too slack. This could have created a risk that the cables would snag on something as the sunshield unfolded, keeping it from deploying.</p>
<p>Contractor Northrop Grumman also accidentally put several small tears in the sunshield.</p>
<p>And during tests, scientists discovered that the propulsion system could allow leaks from the telescope&#8217;s thruster valves.</p>
<p>The telescope has already gone through considerable testing to make sure it can make it to its million-mile destination and start doing science once it&#8217;s there. This year, NASA is planning to do more tests, on individual pieces and the telescope as a whole (once it&#8217;s welded together), to ensure it can survive the traumatic journey from Earth to space.</p>
<figure id="attachment_128014" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="wp-image-128014 size-large" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/03/James_Webb_telescope_sunshield-1200x799.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="799" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">The James Webb sunshield, stacked and unfurled for a full-sized test in 2014 (which it passed). Image Credit: Chris Gunn / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</figcaption></figure>
<h2>3. The project&#8217;s cost may continue to rise.</h2>
<p>Back in 2011, when JWST was slated to launch in 2018, Congress gave the project a cost cap of $8 billion. But now, officials think the project might exceed it.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s one of the main tasks of the upcoming independent review board <span class="s1">— to </span>figure out if the JWST can meet its launch date without going over the target price. At the very least, the project will need at least $837 million to operate the telescope after launch.</p>
<p>The good news, at least, is that it doesn&#8217;t appear that NASA would consider canceling this massive undertaking at the 11th hour. No one wants to throw away the $7.3 billion they&#8217;ve already spent.</p>
<p>“This is the definition of ‘sunk cost,’” Grant Tremblay, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/27/17167534/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delay-may-2020">told <em>The Verge</em></a>. “We’re launching this thing.”</p>
<h2>4. The delay could slow down other space projects.</h2>
<p>After James Webb gets in motion, NASA&#8217;s next priority is supposed to be the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), <a href="https://futurism.com/ready-largest-picture-universe-taken/">another massive telescope</a> that promises to make Hubble&#8217;s astonishing images of the universe look like blurry flip phone photos.</p>
<p>In 2010, the National Academy of Sciences said the telescope was its number one priority. And now the latest White House budget proposal has already <a href="https://futurism.com/cancelled-wfirst-space-telescope/">threatened to kill it</a>. <figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/beyond-hubble-the-space-telescopes-tomorrow-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/03/Space-Telescope_home_v1.jpg" alt="The Space Telescopes of Tomorrow [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/beyond-hubble-the-space-telescopes-tomorrow-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure></p>
<p>The scientific community has firmly resisted letting WFIRST go. But if the James Webb ends up over-budget and far past its launch date, the extra money needed to get the JWST into space will come out of WFIRST funds.</p>
<p>At the teleconference, Zurbuchen suggested that the James Webb&#8217;s impact on WFIRST will be &#8220;more of perception than cost,&#8221; that is, that people might simply think WFIRST is less possible because of the Webb delays.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-slips-to-2020-and-astronomy-suffers/"><em>Scientific American </em>reports</a> otherwise, nothhat extra costs will likely delay WFIRST further, and potentially prevent it from operating at the same time as Webb <span class="s1">— </span>one of the main reasons for launching it in the first place.</p>
<p>Some experts worry that the reverberations of JWST&#8217;s delays could extend even further.</p>
<p>&#8220;My fear now is that the community will be so frightened of cost that they won’t recommend any large telescope in the next decadal [survey],” one senior astronomer told <em>Scientific American, </em>speaking under conditions of anonymity. &#8220;If NASA doesn’t pursue another big strategic mission after Webb and WFIRST &#8230; More likely [that money] will go into rockets to put people on the moon, or to some program outside of NASA entirely. If we’re not careful, this could lead to the end of the golden age of U.S. space astronomy.”</p>


NASA wants to ensure the James Webb is in perfect condition before it's sent a million miles away, so far we can't fix it.

The James Webb telescope is delayed. Again. Here are 4 things to know about it

The James Webb Space Telescope is now slated to launch in May 2020, two years later than originally planned. Here's why, and the impact it may have.

The James Webb Telescope Is Delayed. Again. Here Are 4 Things to Know About it

NASA officials say the delay is about "getting it right." 

<p>Last week, <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-273?utm_campaign=usgao_email&amp;utm_content=daybook&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed </a>that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is facing further delays and difficulties. The highly anticipated telescope <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/348/6233/388.full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will succeed the Hubble Telescope</a> and expand our view of the universe further than ever before. Yet despite this hype and excitement, the JWST has faced a seemingly endless stream of delays.</p>
<p>In September 2017, the JWST<a href="https://futurism.com/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delayed-to-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> launch was delayed</a> from October 2018 to June 2019. Now, because of issues in testing and integrating the telescope&#8217;s components, this date has been pushed to an as-yet-unknown data further in the future.</p>
<p>It is no surprise that the JWST will be one of the costliest missions that NASA, alongside Europe and Canada&#8217;s space agencies, has ever attempted, as it&#8217;s also one of the most complex. The JWST will have a mirror more than three times wider than Hubble&#8217;s, and more than 100 times Hubble&#8217;s sensitivity. It will unfold and begin transmitting data 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, beyond the reach of repair missions if any of its advanced technologies malfunction. Altogether, the telescope is <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/building-james-webb-biggest-boldest-riskiest-space-telescope" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most ambitious projects</a> any space agency has ever attempted.</p>
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<p>It is unclear how much further the James Webb launch date will be pushed back, but another delay is expected due to difficulties mating the telescope with the bus that will carry it to its launch site. If there are any delays beyond this, it&#8217;s likely that the project <a href="https://futurism.com/congress-just-passed-nasas-19-5-billion-budget/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will exceed Congress&#8217;s budget cap</a>. It is historically difficult for NASA, and scientific efforts in general, <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/budget-battle-looms-for-us-science-programmes-1.22548">to find sufficient funding</a>. If the project does reach its financial limit, it is uncertain what action Congress might take.</p>
<p>This month, the JWST mission&#8217;s Standing Review Board will re-assess the situation and provide a clearer confirmation of the project&#8217;s time frame and budgetary requirements. They expect to have a report completed in early April, so we will soon have a better idea of the telescope&#8217;s future.</p>
<p>These delays might be disheartening, but as Northrop Grumman&#8217;s JWST program manager Scott Willoughby <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/flagship-us-space-telescope-facing-further-delays" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told </a><i><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/flagship-us-space-telescope-facing-further-delays" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Science</a></i> about earlier delays, “It took longer than predicted, but it’s about getting it right.&#8221; The &#8220;overabundance of caution” Willoughby describes is of the utmost importance. This telescope has been an investment of unparalleled proportions, and its success could forever <a href="https://futurism.com/nasa-testing-telescope-revolutionize-view-cosmos/">change how we observe the universe</a>. It would be a shame to rush the process and end up with a revolutionary telescope that doesn&#8217;t work.</p>


This is the most ambitious telescope international space agencies have attempted.

Technical, budget problems will delay the James Webb Telescope again

If technical issues continue to delay the James Webb Space Telescope, the project could exceed Congress' budget cap, leaving its future uncertain.

Technical, Budget Problems Will Delay the James Webb Telescope Again

“It took longer than predicted, but it’s about getting it right." 

<h2>Going Supernova</h2>
<p>Our ability to view and image the universe has <a href="https://futurism.com/nasas-twin-voyager-probes-are-the-most-important-spacecraft-ever-launched/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improved drastically within recent decades</a>. <a href="https://futurism.com/hubble-discovery-suggests-we-may-need-new-physics-to-explain-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hubble Space Telescope</a> opened a window to the universe that has allowed us to expand our knowledge of space and the laws of nature tremendously. Since then, we have expanded not only this knowledge but our ability to view and observe the far reaches of the cosmos. This is epitomized with <a href="https://futurism.com/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delayed-to-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)</a>, which will serve as NASA&#8217;s premier observatory and the most capable space imaging technology to-date.</p>
<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.universetoday.com/134879/star-going-supernova-slow-motion-discovered/?utm_content=buffer4699f&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a successful display of modern space imaging</a>, an international team of astronomers used the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) at the <a href="http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/index.php/ogle-article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory</a> to capture, in great detail, a star going supernova in slow motion. This type of supernova (SN Type Ibn) typically rises to peak brightness very rapidly, resulting in a fast decline, this supernova took its time reaching its peak before slowly fading.</p>
<figure style="width: 602px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-113973 size-large aligncenter" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/12/supernova.jpg" alt="&quot;OGLE-2014-SN-131 (blue circle) in a VLT acquisition (left), and an NTT image showing no visible host at the SN location (right).&quot; Image Credit: Karamehmetoglu et al." width="602" height="235" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><a class="hoverZoomLink" href="https://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/newslowlyevo.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;OGLE-2014-SN-131 (blue circle) in a VLT acquisition (left), and an NTT image showing no visible host at the SN location (right)</a>. Image Credit: Karamehmetoglu et al.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Remarkable Imaging</h2>
<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1703.08222.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Led by Emir Karamehmetoglu</a> of The Oskar Klein Center at Stockholm University, these astronomers, who were from the UK, Poland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany, were studying a &#8220;Type Ibn&#8221; event known as OGLE-2014-SN-13. Astronomers think these explosions are likely the result of the cores of massive stars, which have lost their outer hydrogen envelope, collapsing. Within this explosion, also, the star&#8217;s ejecta interacts with helium-rich circumstellar material (CSM).<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/ancient-supernovae-it-came-from-outer-space-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/07/HomeThumb-5.jpg" alt="Ancient Supernovae: It Came From Outer Space  [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/ancient-supernovae-it-came-from-outer-space-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure></p>
<p>Karamehmetoglu remarked, on OGLE-2014-SN-13 that &#8220;The fact that it took several times longer than the typical rise to maximum brightness, which is unlike any other Ibn that has been studied before, makes it a very unique object.”</p>
<p>As space imaging technologies continue to develop, especially with the launch of the JWST, it is likely that observations like this will continue to improve and expand, allowing us to observe unique events like this throughout the Solar System and beyond.</p>


It's another landmark observation in the next-gen of astronomy.

These are real images of a star going supernova

Astronomers used the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) to capture, in great detail, a star going supernova in slow motion.

These Are Real Images of a Star Going Supernova

This star exploded in a truly unique way.

<h2>A Closer Look</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.stsci.edu/portal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)</a> has detailed the 13 proposals that will comprise the initial set of scientific observations carried out using the highly anticipated <a href="https://futurism.com/the-telescope-that-could-likely-detect-a-bumblebee-on-the-moon-is-almost-complete/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Webb Space Telescope</a> (JWST).</p>
<p>“I’m thrilled to see the list of astronomers’ most fascinating targets for the Webb telescope and extremely eager to see the results. We fully expect to be surprised by what we find,&#8221; said John C. Mather, Senior Project Scientist for the Webb telescope and Senior Astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasas-james-webb-space-telescope-early-science-observations-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a news release</a>.</p>
<p>These studies will cover a wide breadth of the research that the telescope will facilitate, ranging from observations of our own solar system to some of the most distant galaxies on record. All four of the JWST&#8217;s instruments will be utilized, thereby fully demonstrating its capabilities.</p>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/beyond-hubble-the-space-telescopes-tomorrow-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/03/Space-Telescope_home_v1.jpg" alt="The Space Telescopes of Tomorrow [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/beyond-hubble-the-space-telescopes-tomorrow-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure>
<p>The scientific community is eager to make use of the JWST. In fact, the STScI received eight times more requests for subscription to the Early Release period than it could facilitate. &#8220;It&#8217;s pretty competitive,&#8221; Neill Reid of the STScI told <i>Futurism,</i> but researchers have every reason to be excited about the JWST.</p>
<p>&#8220;Webb is six-and-a-half meters. There&#8217;s orders of magnitude increase in sensitivity with that, so there&#8217;s really an enormous area of discovery space,&#8221; said Reid. &#8220;You can do bright objects much, much faster. You can do much fainter objects than you could have ever done before with any telescope.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;In order to see things fainter, we need a larger telescope to collect more light,&#8221; Jonathan Gardner, deputy senior project scientist for the JWST, told <em>Futurism.</em></p>
<p>According to Gardner, the JWST has several advantages <a href="https://futurism.com/hubble-discovery-suggests-we-may-need-new-physics-to-explain-dark-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over the Hubble telescope</a>, and one of its major strengths is its ability to provide researchers with a look back in time, allowing them to observe faint galaxies as they first formed many light-years away.</p>
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<p>Another reason the JWST is so popular is its relatively short timeframe for operation — no one wants to miss their chance to take advantage of it.</p>
<p>&#8220;The limiting factor for Webb is basically fuel,&#8221; said Reid. &#8220;Because it&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/how-nasas-new-telescope-will-advance-our-hunt-for-life-on-other-planets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working in infrared</a>, all of the instruments need to be kept really cold. The way that that&#8217;s done is not by using liquid nitrogen or anything like that — there&#8217;s a giant Sun shade that unfolds that basically puts the telescope into the shade.&#8221;</p>
<p>Keeping the Sun shade in the right place and moving between different objects requires tweaking the telescope&#8217;s orbit using rocket fuel. The JWST will operate for at least five years, but the team is optimistic that it will have enough fuel for at least 10 years of operation.</p>
<h2>Plans for Exoplanets</h2>
<p>Even during just this short period, the JWST could deliver exciting new observations related to <a href="https://futurism.com/we-may-have-just-found-twenty-habitable-worlds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exoplanets</a>. The telescope is fitted with several spectrographs that will work at infrared and near-infrared wavelengths, allowing researchers to probe regions that haven&#8217;t previously been accessible in the hunt for relatively small exoplanets.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll be able to study their atmospheres in much more detail than we&#8217;ve ever been able to before,&#8221; said Reid.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6nhXkPuviac?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Gardner told <em>Futurism</em> about a program that was chosen as part of the Early Release period that will use <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-have-launched-a-new-quest-to-take-humanity-beyond-our-solar-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a process called coronagraphy</a> to look at the characteristics of the atmospheres of <a href="https://futurism.com/we-may-have-just-found-twenty-habitable-worlds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exoplanets</a> as they travel in front of their stars.</p>
<p>&#8220;One of the most exciting things, I think, is that as the planet is transiting the star, the light from the star actually goes through the atmosphere of the planet and reaches our telescope,&#8221; said Gardner. &#8220;When we subtract that out, we can get a direct spectrum of the atmosphere and determine its constituents.&#8221;</p>
<p>Given that these are just some of the earliest plans for the JWST and that it could be in service for nearly a decade, the telescope could offer up all manner of insights to the scientific community before its final transmission.</p>


Scientists are eager to take advantage of the powerful device.

A telescope 100X stronger than Hubble will unveil parts of the cosmos we've never seen

NASA has announced the selection of 13 research programs that will comprise the Early Release period for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

A Telescope 100X Stronger Than Hubble Will Unveil Parts of the Cosmos We've Never Seen

"We fully expect to be surprised by what we find."

A Telescope 100X Stronger Than Hubble Will Unveil Parts of the Cosmos We’ve Never Seen

<h2>Baffling Matter in the Universe</h2>
<p>For several decades now, since Albert Einstein first posited his general theory of relativity, astronomers have come to understand that what we know and experience to be matter in the Universe is only a tiny fraction of what&#8217;s really out there. About 25 percent of the Universe is made up of so-called dark matter, while 68 to 75 percent is dark energy. Both sound like an evil villain&#8217;s secret plan for galactic conquest, and indeed they&#8217;re often used as such in science fiction.</p>
<p>The reality is, dark matter and dark energy are out there — although their mysterious nature has caused some to credit their existence to <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-think-dark-energy-might-just-illusion/" target="_blank">an illusion</a>. Though both invisible, we actually see their effects in terms of how these interact with gravity. <a href="https://futurism.com/this-dark-energy-discovery-could-rewrite-physics/" target="_blank">Dark energy</a> is thought to be a mysterious force that <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/watch-why-the-universe-needs-dark-energy/" target="_blank">accelerates the expansion of the Universe</a> and is, therefore, considered to be a  cosmological constant according to Einstein — a vacuum energy that&#8217;s represented by a constant Equation of State (EoS) of -1, for the purposes of the study.</p>
<p>Now, a collaboration of astronomers, including those from the <a href="http://www.port.ac.uk/" target="_blank">University of Portsmouth&#8217;s</a> (UoP) <a href="http://www.icg.port.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation</a> (ICG), have found evidence that suggests that dark matter may have a dynamic nature. “Since its discovery at the end of last century, dark energy has been a riddle wrapped in an enigma,&#8221; ICG director Bob Nichol said in <a href="http://uopnews.port.ac.uk/2017/10/03/astronomers-reveal-evidence-of-dynamical-dark-energy/" target="_blank">a UoP press release</a>. &#8220;We are all desperate to gain some greater insight into its characteristics and origin. Such work helps us make progress in solving this 21st Century mystery.”</p>
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<h2>A Dynamic Energy</h2>
<p>According to their study, published in the journal <i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-017-0216-z" target="_blank">Nature Astronomy</a></i>, evidence of dark energy&#8217;s dynamic nature comes from high-precision measurements of the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) — periodic fluctuations of a matter composed of protons and neutrons —  at multiple cosmic epochs. These measurements were taken in 2016 by a team that included the lead author of the new study, Gong-Bo Zhao from ICG and the National Astronomical Observatories of China. Combined with a new method which Zhao developed, the astronomers found evidence of dynamical dark energy at an undeniable degree of statistical certainty.</p>
<p>In short, instead of a constant vacuum, dark energy may be some form of dynamical field. “We are excited to see that current observations are able to probe the dynamics of dark energy at this level, and we hope that future observations will confirm what we see today,&#8221; Zhao said in the press release.</p>
<p>To confirm their findings, the team is depending on future astronomical surveys to be conducted by next-generation instruments. One of these is the <a href="http://desi.lbl.gov/" target="_blank">Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey</a>, which is slated to begin work on a 3D cosmic map in 2018. Aside from this, powerful instruments like the long-awaited <a href="https://futurism.com/james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delayed-to-2019/" target="_blank">James Webb Space Telescope</a> could also help to make observations that might shed light on the mysteries of dark energy.</p>


Dark energy might not be what we thought.

Astronomers have uncovered evidence of "dynamical dark energy"

Dark matter and dark energy are two of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos.

Astronomers Have Uncovered Evidence of “Dynamical Dark Energy”

The mysterious energy that drives the expansion of the universe may not be a constant. 

<h2>Delayed Launch</h2>
<p>NASA&#8217;s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the world&#8217;s most powerful telescope to date and the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), will have a few extra months before it&#8217;s launched into orbit. After the latest check on outstanding technical issues and integration work, NASA pushed back the launch date from October 2018 to between March and June 2019. The delay has to do with the integration of the spacecraft bus and sunshield that will bring the telescope into orbit; a process that is taking more time than predicted. There are no problems with the telescope itself.</p>
<p>“Webb&#8217;s spacecraft and sunshield are larger and more complex than most spacecraft,” JWST program director Eric Smith announced with<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-james-webb-space-telescope-to-be-launched-spring-2019" target="_blank"> NASA</a>. “The combination of some integration activities taking longer than initially planned, such as the installation of more than 100 sunshield membrane release devices, factoring in lessons learned from earlier testing, like longer time spans for vibration testing, has meant the integration and testing process is just taking longer. Considering the investment NASA has made, and the good performance to date, we want to proceed very systematically through these tests to be ready for a Spring 2019 launch.”</p>
<figure style="width: 820px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-104115 size-large aligncenter" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/09/JWST.jpg" alt="Image Credit: NASA" width="820" height="614" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>
<p>The 18 gold-plated beryllium mirror segments of the JWST are now being cryogenically tested in NASA&#8217;s enormous Chamber A of Houston&#8217;s Johnson Space Center. The telescope passed its testing time with flying colors, surviving in space-like conditions with temperatures below -250 C (-420 F), and it is now thawing out so it can be removed from the testing chamber. Next, the JWST will be moved to the Redondo Beach facilities for integration with the spacecraft.</p>
<h2>Astronomical Goals</h2>
<p>The gold telescope&#8217;s massively powerful primary mirror is 6.5 meters in diameter and should be able to perceive objects up to <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/telescopes/news/a28431/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delayed-2019/" target="_blank">16 times fainter</a> than the Hubble. It can also collect infrared light, making it possible for astronomers to see further back into space and time than ever before. The JWST will investigate our Solar System&#8217;s origins by observing the Trojan asteroids and the three largest low-albedo asteroids. It will also help scientists to protect Earth by exploring near-Earth objects. Also on the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-first-targets-of-the-james-webb-telescope-have-been-announced/" target="_blank">agenda for the JWST</a> are investigations of geological phenomena and the atmosphere on Saturn, Neptune’s south polar vortex, and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, as well as the potential for life on various far-off exoplanets.</p>
<p>The JWST will be launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), and hopefully, there will be no further delays for the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-telescope-that-could-likely-detect-a-bumblebee-on-the-moon-is-almost-complete/" target="_blank">space telescope</a> that “could probably detect a bumblebee on the moon.”</p>


Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with the telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope launch delayed to 2019

Due to the integration of the spacecraft, NASA has pushed back the launch date of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the most powerful telescope in the world to date, from October 2018 to between March and June 2019.

James Webb Space Telescope Launch Delayed to 2019

Pushed back only a few months, NASA wants to ensure the integration of the spacecraft.

<h2>Life by Proxy</h2>
<p>According to<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-s-webb-telescope-will-study-our-solar-system-s-ocean-worlds" target="_blank"> a NASA statement</a> late last month, in addition to the hunt for life on exoplanets, the imminent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has us bracing for next-gen imaging of two of our solar system&#8217;s major candidates suspected to host life: the frozen moons Europa and Enceladus. With five-layer, tennis-court sized mirrors, the JWST will be 100 times stronger than its predecessor, the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-hubble-got-a-look-at-the-crab-nebulas-beating-heart/">Hubble Space Telescope.</a></p>
<p>Europa and Enceladus — one of Jupiter&#8217;s and Saturn&#8217;s moons, respectively — may house subsurface oceans of liquid water below their seemingly barren surfaces. Both moons have been observed shooting massive plumes of liquid out of criss-crossing chasms between shifting ice-masses. These liquid ejections may be caused by underground geysers, which could <a href="https://futurism.com/what-is-the-likelihood-that-europas-oceans-harbor-alien-life-we-may-soon-find-out/" target="_blank">be a source of nutrients and heat</a> to underlying lifeforms, according to scientists.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ze2ooa3c8yg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&#8220;We chose these two moons because of their potential to exhibit chemical signatures of astrobiological interest,&#8221; said Heidi Hammel, executive vice president of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-s-webb-telescope-will-study-our-solar-system-s-ocean-worlds" target="_blank">in a statement</a>.</p>
<p>Colloquially known as &#8220;Webb,&#8221; the JWST will collect infrared light, which provides evidence of heat-generating objects too cool to emit visible light (e.g., humans, and other mammals, hence the use of night-vision technology). Astrobiologists hope Webb will identify areas on and below the surfaces of these moons where possibly life-supporting chemicals erupt.</p>
<p>Webb&#8217;s contribution to our understanding of the icy moons will precede <a href="https://futurism.com/nasa-plans-listen-ice-europa-find-beneath/" target="_blank">the Europa Clipper mission</a>, a $2 billion orbital flight to the Europa slated for a launch sometime in the 2020s. That mission is set to seek out new life on the icy moon, so the more we learn beforehand with Webb, the more areas of interest we&#8217;ll already have identified for Europa Clipper to investigate.</p>
<p>The successor to Hubble will also check out <a href="https://futurism.com/heres-your-critical-guide-to-the-hospitable-earth-like-exoplanets/" target="_blank">Proxima b</a>, the tidally-locked exoplanet suspected to be hospitable to life (at least around its solar terminus). It will also tell us which (if any) planets in <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-just-found-the-first-evidence-that-the-trappist-1-system-might-contain-water/" target="_blank">the TRAPPIST-1 system</a> have oxygen-rich atmospheres.</p>
<h2>Cosmic Mystery</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://futurism.com/after-20-years-of-construction-the-james-webb-space-telescope-is-finally-complete/" target="_blank">JWST has more in store</a> for us than the potential discovery of extraterrestrial life: one of its first missions will be to locate <a href="https://futurism.com/planet-9-probably-isnt-an-exoplanet-after-all/" target="_blank">Planet Nine</a> — if it actually exists, that is. It will peer back at the entirety of our universe&#8217;s 13.5-billion year history. We&#8217;ll learn <a href="https://futurism.com/new-evidence-shows-we-might-have-gotten-cosmic-evolution-entirely-wrong/" target="_blank">how the earliest galaxies formed and evolved</a>. It could even allow us to <a href="https://futurism.com/this-dark-energy-discovery-could-rewrite-physics/" target="_blank">comprehend dark energy and dark matter</a>, the mysterious mechanism behind the expansion of the universe.</p>
<p>However much further Webb extends our gaze into the frontier, it will usher in a new age for space exploration, once it launches this October atop the Ariane 5 rocket.</p>


The telescope will peer back at the entirety of our universe's 13.5-billion year history.

How NASA’s new telescope will advance our hunt for life on other planets

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will use infrared analysis to probe for life-supporting conditions in geysers on two moons of planets in our universe.

How NASA’s New Telescope Will Advance Our Hunt for Life on Other Planets

And it will transform our fundamental understanding of the cosmos.

<h2>A New Era in Space Telescopes</h2>
<p>If you want an idea of the sensitivity of the <a href="https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/" target="_blank">James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)</a>, consider this claim by senior project scientist and Nobel laureate <a href="https://jwst.nasa.gov/meet-mather.html" target="_blank">John Mather</a>. <a href="http://www.northropgrumman.com/CorporateResponsibility/CorporateCitizenship/Education/IntoTheUnknown/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">In a film produced by Northrop Grumman</a>, one of the firms helping prepare the JWST for its mission, Mather asserts that the huge telescope is so powerful it could probably detect a bumblebee on the Moon.</p>
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/beyond-hubble-the-space-telescopes-tomorrow-infographic/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/03/Space-Telescope_home_v1.jpg" alt="The Space Telescopes of Tomorrow [Infographic]" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/beyond-hubble-the-space-telescopes-tomorrow-infographic/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure>
<p>&#8220;You have to take a time exposure to get something that sensitive; the bumblebee shouldn&#8217;t move,&#8221; Mather said. &#8220;The bumblebee has to hold still, but of course the most distant Universe looks as though it is standing still.&#8221;</p>
<p>The JWST is considered the successor to Hubble, but it won&#8217;t merely be replacing the veteran space telescope — the JWST will also improve upon it in almost all respects. Its 18 hexagonal mirror segments give the JWST a view 100 times larger than Hubble&#8217;s, and the JWST is capable of viewing space through the detection of infrared light far fainter than any other telescope can detect.</p>
<h2>Prepared for Anything</h2>
<p>Indeed, such a powerful telescope could <a href="https://futurism.com/the-first-targets-of-the-james-webb-telescope-have-been-announced/" target="_blank">open up the universe to exploration like never before</a>, but first, we need to make sure it&#8217;ll work as expected.</p>
<p>To ensure that the JWST is ready for its mission — and that it won&#8217;t have<a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/about/history/aberration_problem/" target="_blank"> the &#8220;Hubble problem&#8221;</a> — engineers have locked the telescope in a special chamber at NASA&#8217;s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The conditions inside the massive chamber will imitate those of space, specifically the conditions the JWST will encounter soon after launching.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UhIQCMbefN0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&#8220;The operational temperature on orbit is about 30 kelvins — 30 degrees above absolute zero; but we&#8217;re going to test JWST to slightly lower,&#8221; NASA engineer Juli Lander <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/6mn06s/the_james_webb_telescope_is_so_sensitive_to_heat" target="_blank">told <em>BBC News</em></a>. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to see if we can push on the hardware and the instruments a bit to give us a little margin on orbit.&#8221;</p>
<p>As soon as testing in Houston finishes, the JWST is set to move to California to be housed in a satellite factory under Northrop Grumman. There, it will be attached to two final components: a sunshield and the spacecraft it will ride into orbit. After that, more than two decades of development will pay off and the telescope will finally be ready to launch in October 2018.</p>


Hubble's extremely powerful successor is almost ready for launch.

The Telescope That Could Likely Detect a Bumblebee on the Moon Is Almost Complete

Of course, the bee would have to stay really, really still.

<h2>Mirrors To Space</h2>
<p>The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has <a href="https://futurism.com/after-20-years-of-construction-the-james-webb-space-telescope-is-finally-complete/" target="_blank">long past construction.</a> The only reason it&#8217;s still not on a rocket bound for space is because it&#8217;s currently completing a series of tests to make sure everything&#8217;s in working order. Most recently, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-s-webb-telescope-completes-goddard-testing-heading-to-texas-for-more" target="_blank">according to NASA</a>, the JWST finished testing at the space agency&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland — rendering it one step closer to launch. <figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/hubble-space-telescope-highlight-reel/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/05/hubblespace_home_v1.png" alt="Hubble Space Telescope: The Highlight Reel" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/hubble-space-telescope-highlight-reel/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure></p>
<p>Intended to be the <a href="https://futurism.com/nasas-hubble-space-telescope-gets-to-stay-up-five-more-years/" target="_blank">successor to the Hubble Space Telescope</a>, the JWST features an enormous gold mirror divided into <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/james-webb-space-telescope-mirrors-will-piece-together-cosmic-puzzles" target="_blank">18 hexagonal segments</a>, designed to capture infrared light &#8220;from the first galaxies that formed in the early universe.&#8221; NASA&#8217;s post on the design continued by explaining the mirrors &#8220;will help the telescope peer inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming today.&#8221;</p>
<p>The tests in Goddard were to check if the mirrors have been warped after undergoing simulations of spaceflight. NASA&#8217;s engineers <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-s-webb-telescope-completes-goddard-testing-heading-to-texas-for-more" target="_blank">found the mirrors in tiptop condition</a>. The JWST is scheduled to be moved to Texas for some focus and cryogenic tests, and then to California for its final assembly.</p>
<p><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/05/otis_to_iis-1-1200x785.jpg" alt="Image credit: NASA" width="798" height="380" />Image credit: <i>NASA</i></p>
<h2>Expanding Horizons</h2>
<p>The last decade or so has been a critical period for exploring the final frontier. The discoveries made provided us with several major scientific insights <a href="https://futurism.com/well-soon-be-able-to-look-into-the-heart-of-the-milky-way/" target="_blank">into our galaxy</a>, <a href="https://futurism.com/5-nasa-says-saturns-moon-has-ingredients-necessary-for-a-habitable-environment/" target="_blank">its planets</a>, and <a href="https://futurism.com/new-evidence-has-emerged-on-the-potential-for-life-in-the-trappist-system/" target="_blank">what lies beyond</a> it. These discoveries also encompass <a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211" target="_blank">the discovery of gravitational fields</a> confirming Einstein&#8217;s theories. All of these revelations were made possible by the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-latest-super-telescopes-will-let-you-see-space-like-never-before/" target="_blank">ever-improving space telescopes</a> of various shapes, sizes, and purposes, as well as by the <a href="https://futurism.com/a-grand-finale-cassini-made-its-dives-through-saturns-rings/" target="_blank">handful of orbiters</a> currently making the rounds throughout our galaxy.</p>
<p>While we do know more about space now that we did, say, twenty years ago — there&#8217;s still a lot more that we don&#8217;t yet understand. With the Hubble expected to retire soon, the JWST will take its place in helping us learn about the universe. With a collecting area that&#8217;s seven times larger than Hubble&#8217;s and mirrors capable of detecting infrared light — something the Hubble couldn&#8217;t do — the JWST will truly <a href="https://futurism.com/the-james-webb-space-telescope-will-utterly-transform-our-view-of-the-universe/" target="_blank">allow us to see the universe</a> like never before.</p>


NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has completed its first round of tests for rocket viability. This next-generation space telescope will soon be our newest and most powerful eyes in space, capable of detecting infrared light — which its predecessor, the Hubble, couldn't do. 

/James Webb Space Telescope

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