Bartol Hosi

Mr. Williams

Physics

October 23, 2022

Criterion D Essay

When trying to make a discovery, there are two main things that you need to consider,

empiricism and rationalism. Empiricism is the knowledge that comes experimentations or

observations, on the other hand rationalism is the knowledge that is formed by logic or reason.

Without one there is not another one. Similarly empiricism is connected more with science while

rationalism has a more obvious connection with physics, in other words physics would not make

sense without science, and vice versa. Obviously, when trying to prove a theory in physics, there

is a need of experimentation and observation in order to support the claims. Meaning that new

inventions helped us to understand our predictions and explanations of the bigger picture.

Similarly in this article I will be discussing a scienti c innovation that helped us to understand the

universe.

The instrument that this article will be focusing on is the James Webb telescope, it is one

of the more resent inventions by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). The

telescope has been lunched into space on December of 2021, and so far has been able to learn

much more about the universe and its early days. James Webb telescope is composed of one big

convex mirror and a smaller convex mirror, that then

allow the light to bounce between the two, greatly

increasing the magni cation. At the end, the image is

captured by a camera and sent to earth. Ever since the

James Webb telescope has operated, we were able to

get much clearer and more precise images of our

universe. Furthermore, the telescope collects infrared

light, which will allow us to see the rst stars and

galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, because after light travels for a long time, due to the

expansion of the universe the light will also expand, turning into infrared light.

James Webb Space Telescope allows us to see much further back into space, in other

words it has been designed to see the rst stars formed after the Big Bang. The rst stars were
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formed about 13.5 billion years ago, and the light that reaches us is essentially the light from the

stars, however it is infrared light by the time it reaches us. This light can then be detected by the

James Webb telescope, creating an image of the past. This will allow us to see the way that the

stars were originally created and prove the theories that we have about the beginning of the

universe. In a sense the telescope serves as the prof needed to prove our theory. (Empiricism and

rationalism) This could the explain the existence of everything in the universe. The telescope will

also be used to study every phase of the universe, giving us more in-depth photos from the earlier

days. Essentially the James Webb telescope will further the studies of an earlier telescope

(Hubble Space Telescope).

It is believed that the rst stars were much greater and

brighter then the ones we know of today, these stars are thought to

have been composed of mainly two elements, Helium and

Hydrogen. However these stars have not been observed yet, that is

what the James Webb telescope is trying to achieve. So far the

earliest star that has been observed is HD 140283, however it is

known that it is not the rst star because it was composed of

metals as well, which only appeared after a supper nova.

Furthermore the theory of the Big Bang and the process after it was

able to be proven with the telescope, since the James Webb

telescope is able to see that far in the past.

Considering that this telescope is following the steps of the Hubble telescope, the new

instruments has preformed very well so far. So far it was able to get much more detailed pictures

of the universe. This is mainly because when opening up in space there were no problems that

accrued (in contrary to the Hubble

Telescope) This then allowed us to get

better quality images from space. Another

reason why to James Webb telescope is

able to give us such good quality images

is due to its massive mirror, which is

capable of capturing a lot of light. Between

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the two images, you can see a great di erence. This also helps us to understand our universe in a

better way.

Lastly the James Webb telescope will also be able to let us identify new stars and solar

systems, this will be achieved due to the very high magni cation of the telescope. One of the

most popular exoplanet that the James Webb telescope was able to let us see is the VHS 1256 b.

This planet is very similar to Jupiter just a lot bigger. This is just one example of new stars that

was discovered by the James Webb telescope.

To conclude, the James Webb telescope is able to see into the past by looking at infrared

light from the rst stars. So far the telescope has helped to not only prove previously stated

hypothesis, but was also able to let us explore many more corners of our universe. However it has

only been active for so much time, and the future ahead is very bright, and there are many more

discoveries to be made by the James Webb telescope.

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Citations Page:

Achenbach, Joel. “NASA Unveils First Images from James Webb Space Telescope.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 13 July 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/

2022/07/11/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-images/ Accessed October 24.

Garner, Rob. “James Webb Space Telescope Science.” NASA, NASA, 19 Feb. 2015, https://

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/science/index.html Accessed October 24.

Garner, Rob. “NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet.” NASA, NASA, 11

July 2022, https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-delivers-deepest-

infrared-image-of-universe-yet Accessed October 24.

Howell, Elizabeth, and Daisy Dobrijevic. “NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: The Ultimate

Guide.” Space.com, Space, 22 Sept. 2022, https://www.space.com/21925-james-webb-space-

telescope-jwst.html Accessed October 24.

Howell, Elizabeth. “NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Live Updates.” Space.com,

20 Oct. 2022, https://www.space.com/news/live/james-webb-space-telescope-updates

Accessed October 24.

"James Webb." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11 Jul. 2022. school.eb.com/levels/

high/article/James-Webb/396206. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.

Wolchover, Natalie. “The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.” Quanta

Magazine, 3 June 2022, https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-nasas-james-webb-space-

telescope-matters-so-much-20211203/ Accessed October 24.