Design Summary (Draft 1): Space Telescope

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 Mary’s article “Why stars look spiky in images from the James Webb Space Telescope” (Griggs, 2022) explains how the stars appear clearer than ever in the new images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The article explains how the JWST differs from its predecessor, the Hubble telescope with reference to the number of diffraction each telescope produces.  With the aim to take distinct images of the stars, The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed a telescope equipped with “hexagonal mirrors that result in an image with six diffraction spikes”. Taking a closer look, it is described that all of the bright objects in the JWST photos have the same eight-pointed pattern, making them look like Christmas ornaments looking spikes.  

Mary reports that the near-infrared lights gathered by the NIRCam enhance the diffraction spikes of the stars. The NIRCam is one of the developments of JWST  in order for the telescope to deliver clear images of the stars. Moreover, the telescope is also equipped with a MIRI instrument that picks up mid-infrared light instead. Mary also states that though MIRI is engineered to pick up diffraction spikes around the stars as well, "they are fainter and smaller" as compared to the NIRCam.

On the other hand, the JWST's secondary mirror, supported by three struts produced six additional spikes, resulting in significant distortion. Mary addresses that “This pattern of diffraction spikes is unique to JWST. If you compare images taken by the new telescope to images taken by its predecessor, you'll notice that Hubble only has four diffraction spikes to JWST's eight”. With JWST's advanced developments, scientists are able to capture clearer images as compared to Hubble's telescope with reference to the number of diffraction spikes each telescope can capture.

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