![]() ‘They’re very different from the ones we see nearby. The composition of these atmospheres tells us more about the history of the formation of planets, but also, for example, whether there are planets that are similar to Earth or that contain more or less water and other building blocks for life compared with our own home planet.įranx will search for galaxies in the early Universe. ‘And thanks to MIRI, Webb will be able to pick up even the faintest infrared light.’ 'Compounds such as water, carbon dioxide and methane can only be observed in the infrared or from space,’ she explains to the Dutch Financieel Dagblad. This can then be compared with that of atmospheres of mature exoplanets, which are planets around stars other than our Sun. Van Dishoeck wants to use her share to study the composition of the gas and dust in disks in which new planets are being born. How are Earth-like planets formed?Īs remuneration for their contribution, researchers involved in developing Webb will receive guaranteed observation time. Then, Webb will arrive at its new destination, where it will provide us with unforeseen space details for at least five, but hopefully ten years. The 1.5 million kilometre journey takes about a month. As this site is close to the equator, the speed of the Earth’s rotation gives the launchers an extra boost. The James Webb Telescope is set for launch in December aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from the ESA launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana. He was involved in the development of another instrument on Webb: NIRSPEC. ‘Webb’s angular resolution and sensitivity puts it way ahead of previous missions,’ Leiden professor Marijn Franx points out. Furthermore, MIRI will allow us to analyse the spectra of different light points taken at once, which provides new research opportunities that would not have been possible with a classical spectrometer.’Īs the successor to the beloved Hubble Space Telescope, Webb will have much more light collecting power – which equals more sensitivity and sharper images. We will learn so many new things from the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets, to the evolution of distant galaxies. It will enable us to look at cooler objects, which emit at these longer wavelengths. ‘Such a powerful infrared spectrometer in space will be unique. ![]() ![]() Watch the video on the original website or Accept cookies A giant leap forwardĪccording to Brandl, MIRI is a giant leap forward. Brandl: ‘MIRI will be able to “see” light in the mid-infrared spectrum, with wavelengths invisible to the human eye.’ĭue to the selected cookie settings, we cannot show this video here. A spectrometer catches the light emitted by an object in space and separates it into different wavelengths, creating a ‘fingerprint’ that contains key information on these astronomical objects. ‘I guided the team that developed the medium-resolution spectrometer of MIRI,’ he says. ‘The Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) was one of them.’īrandl took part in many discussions and interactions, and also participated in the first test campaigns of the instrument. ‘Unlike the other scientific instruments aboard, MIRI has not been designed and built by space agencies NASA and ESA, but by an international consortium of institutes,’ he says. Professor of Infrared Astronomy Bernhard Brandl was closely involved in the construction of MIRI. This became the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI): an infrared camera and spectrometer for which the Netherlands developed a large part of the optics and which will soon enable us to look right through cosmic dust. ![]() In 1997, van Dishoeck was part of a small group of scientists that suggested the idea of sending a hyper-sensitive infrared instrument along. She has been involved with JWST from the beginning. Part I: How the Dutch helped build one of the most important instruments on board.Ī key role is reserved for Leiden professor Ewine van Dishoeck.
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