Mike,

Yes. Your statement, "Mankind's perspective on ourselves and the universe is about to change.", as simple as it is, may be the most extraordinary understatement you could make.



Which leads back to my philosophical quest.

Jg

About 12 years ago I started spending some time at the Canadian Space Agency test facilities in Ottawa (they rent out their test labs for aerospace environmental testing). Some of the James Webb components were there being tested at the same time, it was very cool.

Sorry, Mike, I have to nit pick this one item from your otherwise great post.

Galileo was just repeating what Copernicus said some 50 years earlier (although I guess Galileo did provide the observational evidence). To be completely fair, Aristarchus of Samos some centuries earlier was the first guy with the idea, but he got even less traction than Copernicus.

Evidence is all important for it to be science.

Being lucky in believing something to be true doesn't count.





Sorry, Mike, I have to nit pick this one item from your otherwise great post.

Galileo was just repeating what Copernicus said some 50 years earlier (although I guess Galileo did provide the observational evidence). To be completely fair, Aristarchus of Samos some centuries earlier was the first guy with the idea, but he got even less traction than Copernicus.

Pffffttttttt, those guys, they got it all wrong. According to several of the fairer sex in my HS days, everything revolved around THEM. So, sorry, Copernicus, Galileo, and Ciholas, even, you're just wrong.......

(My sarcastic way to say "subscribed" so I don't lose this thread..... )

It also seems some UFOs are moving in manners that defy physics as we know it. A sign there is much yet to learn.

I'm very excited for what the JWST will bring in terms of expanding our knowledge and showing us just how much more we don't know ... the best part about things like this is that while they do answer many questions, they mostly pose new questions and show us how much the questions we thought we wanted answered aren't really the right questions to ask ...

I follow a lot of astronomy-related content on YouTube and elsewhere and they are all on the edge of their seats about JWST. But it will take a while for results to come in so it won't be instant gratification by any means.

Hold your breath on the launch and the setup!

Cheers

I'm old enough to remember when anybody who ascribed the Universe to some all-knowing and random rulemaking entity, an intelligent designer so to speak, was consigned by the experts to the realm of ill-informed and backwards red necks, blue haired traditionalists incapable of grasping the post-modern world, Southern Baptists, or red hat wearing troglodytes.

But the way you characterized neo-expert opinion up there sure sounded mighty sophisticated, Mike.

Count me in!

Might have been more serious study than luck. In any case, in the world of theoretical physics there have been uncountable (correct and incorrect) ideas about how things work that were published long before some experimental physicist worked out a way to prove or disprove the theory. IMO that in no way makes the publisher of the original theory unimportant.

I've wondered why they don't unfold it while it's still in an "easily" reachable orbit and then boost it out to where it's going to live. I assume this was considered and rejected for some reason, perhaps when unfolded the structure can't take the required acceleration?

Now pushed to 12/25 due to weather

Extremely concerned about the ultra sophisticated complexity of this telescope. So many ways for it to fail during deployment.

Surprised to learn only a 10 year life due to limited quantities of maneuvering fuel, no method for replenishment.

I'm hoping for the best. We shall see.

Dan

I am totally untrained in matters of astro and particle physics, but I have read most of the books written for the interested layman by the popular writers on the subject. This research is beyond exciting. We are on the cusp of understanding the very creation of matter and time. Together with the history of mankind being tracked by the study of the human genome and DNA, almost every concept that guided the advancement of civilization has been completely rewritten. What the intelligent ones of us know is, it is not magic.

My curiosity is how this knowledge will direct the future of our species when 90% of the world's population still believes in magic. My thoughts are that a true vision of the future would be almost indigestible to the vast majority of people today. Though Hawking spoke a great truth when he said that physics is the new philosophy, I still use the word, philosophy, when engaging the subject of human existence and our future. If anyone knows of a site where such "philosophical" matters are intelligently discussed, I would appreciate your directing me here. Few of those minds exist on a pilot blog even if it were kept within the bounds of TOS.

Jg

Yes, once the solar panels and heat shield are deployed, the craft can't take the thrust to be moved out of Earth orbit.

Mike C.

Yes, once the solar panels and heat shield are deployed, the craft can't take the thrust to be moved out of Earth orbit.

Mike C.