The limitations: Webb might be better than Hubble at collecting data in infrared, but itвЂ™ll be less adept at seeing shorter wavelengths, in ultraviolet and visible light. Its mirror is 21 feet wide, while HubbleвЂ™s was just 8 feet, and this increased size should allow it to collect more light and see farther back in time. Instead of circling Earth, Webb will follow our planetвЂ™s orbit around the sun from about a million miles away. Unlike its predecessor, the new space telescope will focus on infrared light observations, which are useful for studying objects that are really far away. Hubble: Webb isnвЂ™t designed to be an exact replacement for Hubble. вЂњWhat weвЂ™re going to get is a telescope thatвЂ™s about 100 times more powerful than Hubble.вЂќ Amber Straughn ItвЂ™s now fully fueled at EuropeвЂ™s Spaceport in French Guiana and ready to be attached to the Ariane 5 launch vehicle that will ferry it into space - as soon as December 24.

In October 2021, the telescope completed its 5,800-mile journey from California to South America. Since then, the $9.7 billion telescopeвЂ™s launch has been pushed back, year after year, for over a decade, due to technical issues, budgets overruns, the pandemic, and more - but the wait for Webb appears to be coming to an end. Road to launch: NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency began developing the space telescope that would become Webb in 1996, with a plan to launch it in 2007.

The hubble telescope