The James Webb Space Telescope far surpasses its predecessor, the hubble telescope, in several key aspects. The launch of James Webb at the end of 2021 has been a great achievement for NASA and the scientific community in general, since this new telescope represents a radical advance in space imaging.
One of the main advantages of the James Webb is its size. With a primary mirror 6.5 meters in diameter, it is much larger than Hubble., whose primary mirror measures 2.4 meters in diameter. This means that the James Webb can capture more light and collect more detailed dataallowing astronomers to study more distant and dim objects in the universe.
Another important advantage of the James Webb is its ability to observe at infrared wavelengths. While Hubble primarily observes in visible and ultraviolet light, James Webb can see through dark regions of space that Hubble cannot.
Infrared wavelengths can penetrate through cosmic dust and gases that block visible light, which means that James Webb can see objects that Hubble cannot, according to what explained by ADN.
Pandora’s cluster confirms which is more powerful
NASA has released images illustrating the differences between Hubble and James Webb. In an image of the Pandora cluster, captured by both telescopes, it can be clearly seen how James Webb has revealed new galaxies that had not been captured by Hubble.
The Pandora Cluster acts as a natural magnifying glass for distant galaxies in the background, an effect known as gravitational lensing. Thanks to its larger size and infrared capability, James Webb can detect fainter and more distant objects than Hubble, making it an invaluable tool for astronomy and astrophysics.