--- title: "Scientists Say There’s an Upside to Those Rocks That Keep Bludgeoning the James Webb" description: "There might be an upside to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope being pelted by showers of micrometeorites once to twice a month." date: "2023-02-04" modified: "2023-02-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/upside-micrometeorites-james-webb" categories: - "James Webb Space Telescope" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "james webb space telescope" - "micrometeorites" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Say There’s an Upside to Those Rocks That Keep Bludgeoning the James Webb ![There might be an upside to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope being pelted by showers of micrometeorites once to twice a month.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Meteorite Flux NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has been [pummeled by micrometeorites]() ever since its debut. And while the scientists who developed the ten-billion-dollar observatory were well aware of this reality, even they weren't able to predict the kind of damage the telescope's 18 giant mirror segments could sustain [due to larger-than-expected particles](). But there might be a small upside to all that, [as *Space.com* reports]() — the telescope could be used to measure patterns and changes in the micrometeorites permeating our solar system, a potential wealth of scientific data. "It is essentially a meteoroid flux detector, although not intentionally," Margaret Campbell-Brown, a meteor physicist at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, told *Space.com*. "Although, of course, we're sad for them when their mirror gets hit by meteoroids." ## Sandblasted Micrometeorites are highly elusive since they're far too small to be picked up by telescopes. So far, scientists have had to resort to studying how they interact with our planet's atmosphere by detecting their ensuing trails. But the micrometeorites hitting the James Webb could allow scientists to study the difference between the expected kind of meteor showers that we are already familiar with and "sporadic" ones, which are micrometeorites that travel via random orbits that are far less understood. "It's a little more work to observe sporadics than meteor showers, because they're not nicely organized into events," NASA meteor scientist Althea Moorhead told *Space.com*. Then there are the different kinds of meteorites that happen to get blasted into the telescope's mirrors. "Of course it makes a big difference if your spacecraft gets hit by a solid rock as opposed to kind of a fluffy aggregate of little grains," Campbell-Brown told the publication. "One's like being sandblasted, and the other one's like being shot." Despite the pelting forcing scientists to [adjust the telescope's orbit]() last year, James Webb scientists are elated with the telescope's performance and ability to ward off any significant damage. "For the most part, we've been getting about one to two a month that we can actually detect," JWST scientist Lee Feinberg told *Space.com*. "At this point, it's really been a very minor thing." **READ MORE:** [The James Webb Space Telescope gets its own micrometeoroid forecast — here's how]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on micrometeorites:** *[Russia Announces Plan to Rescue Stranded Cosmonauts]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()