International News James Webb Telescope images

The image released earlier...

musktwitter1657591977405.jpg
 
The images are beautiful and, I am sure, very important- the NASA presentation is toe-curling!

The science behind this shows what can happen when nations co-operate.
 
I had to turn off the live feed on NASA TV, it was as hard a listen as the ODI commentary has been this afternoon...
 
ZeroTheHero said:
The images are beautiful and, I am sure, very important- the NASA presentation is toe-curling!

The science behind this shows what can happen when nations co-operate.
Click to expand...

Although the explanation for the top picture and the sister picture of the same in Ste's post was fascinating.
 
Billions of dollars spent to get some pretty pictures, surely there's better things to spend the money on.
 
ZeroTheHero said:
Well the pictures are not of course the aim. It is what they (and the other stuff such as the spectography) will tell us about the fundamental principles that underpin the whole universe!
Click to expand...
Well, that’s just like, your opinion, man.
 
The James Webb Telescope is expected to cost NASA $10Bn across its operational lifetime of 24 years (source). To put that in perspective, the UK Track and Trace system cost £13.5Bn in its first year (source), and £110Bn for HS2 (source). In the grand scheme of things, the JWT isn't massively expensive. And that is before you consider the data and scientific knowledge advancement that it will bring. It's not a massive leap to suggest that understanding the cosmos better will help us understand our planet better.
 
SteMerritt said:
The James Webb Telescope is expected to cost NASA $10Bn across its operational lifetime of 24 years (source). To put that in perspective, the UK Track and Trace system cost £13.5Bn in its first year (source), and £110Bn for HS2 (source). In the grand scheme of things, the JWT isn't massively expensive. And that is before you consider the data and scientific knowledge advancement that it will bring. It's not a massive leap to suggest that understanding the cosmos better will help us understand our planet better.
Click to expand...

And it's a certainty that technology developed for the JWT will find a use elsewhere in civilisation.
 
Coffin dodger said:
No woosh intended does it matter how the universe started, when we can't even look after our own planet.
Click to expand...
I suppose the question then becomes: should there be no science done that is of *obvious*, *immediate* and *foreseeable* benefit to the people of the planet because it's a waste of money?

Because if that is the case, DNA would never have been found/decoded, genetics wouldn't be a thing, computing would be miles behind where it is now etc etc etc. And (since each discovery relies on the last) that would mean that the new vaccines for Covid would/could not have been developed so quickly and millions more would have died. You cannot always tell which scientific endeavours will results in benefits, and as SteMerrit points out above the telescope isn't *that* expensive in the global scheme of things as well as allowing many scientists to further their knowledge in many related fields just by building the thing in the first place. Some of those (as M says) will filter their way down into our every day lives.

Of course, we are all still waiting for hover boots and matter transmission. Damn you, scientists!!!
 
ZeroTheHero said:
I suppose the question then becomes: should there be no science done that is of *obvious*, *immediate* and *foreseeable* benefit to the people of the planet because it's a waste of money?

Because if that is the case, DNA would never have been found/decoded, genetics wouldn't be a thing, computing would be miles behind where it is now etc etc etc. And (since each discovery relies on the last) that would mean that the new vaccines for Covid would/could not have been developed so quickly and millions more would have died. You cannot always tell which scientific endeavours will results in benefits, and as SteMerrit points out above the telescope isn't *that* expensive in the global scheme of things as well as allowing many scientists to further their knowledge in many related fields just by building the thing in the first place. Some of those (as M says) will filter their way down into our every day lives.

Of course, we are all still waiting for hover boots and matter transmission. Damn you, scientists!!!
Click to expand...
there are hundreds and hundreds of things, from the big, through to things like cartridge water filters, miniature camera systems as now used in phones, memory foam, non-contact thermometers, laptops, plane de-icing systems, LEDs, scratch-resistant glasses lenses.....
 
ZeroTheHero said:
I suppose the question then becomes: should there be no science done that is of *obvious*, *immediate* and *foreseeable* benefit to the people of the planet because it's a waste of money?

Because if that is the case, DNA would never have been found/decoded, genetics wouldn't be a thing, computing would be miles behind where it is now etc etc etc. And (since each discovery relies on the last) that would mean that the new vaccines for Covid would/could not have been developed so quickly and millions more would have died. You cannot always tell which scientific endeavours will results in benefits, and as SteMerrit points out above the telescope isn't *that* expensive in the global scheme of things as well as allowing many scientists to further their knowledge in many related fields just by building the thing in the first place. Some of those (as M says) will filter their way down into our every day lives.

Of course, we are all still waiting for hover boots and matter transmission. Damn you, scientists!!!
Click to expand...

They've done matter transmission, just very, very small and not very far.
 
And lest we forget penicillin was discovered by accident in 1928...and it kick-started a 20 year journey to develop the world's first mass produced drug that could clear bacterial infection.

Bit of a game-changer to be fair!
 
Marked Ox said:
They've done matter transmission, just very, very small and not very far.
Click to expand...
True - but it's not quite at a stage where we can all whizz of instantaneously on our hols yet.

I guess there are hover boots as well somewhere! When I was a kid we had something called 'Spring-Heeled Jacks' - they were like roller skates except they had two massive springs in the bottom (per foot). They were as useless and lethal as they sound!
 
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