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Context

• The James Webb telescope is an exemplar of collaborative science and human ingenuity- The Hindu.

About

• The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or "Webb") is a joint NASA–ESA–CSA space telescope that is planned to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship astrophysics mission.
• JWST will study various phases in the history of the universe, from the formation of solar systems to the evolution of our own Solar System.
• The telescope must be kept very coldin order to observe in the infrared without interference, so it will be deployed in space near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point.
• Also a large sunshield made of silicon-coated and aluminium-coated Kapton will keep its mirror and instruments below 50 K (−223.2 °C).

Note

• A Lagrange point is a location in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as Earth and the sun or Earth and the moon, equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller third body.
• The interaction of the forces creates a point of equilibrium where a spacecraft may be "parked" without coming in the influence of gravitational field of any other body (example Earth or Sun).

 To know more about Lagrange Points visit: https://www.iasgyan.in/blogs/types-of-orbits-explained

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/when-the-stars-came-out/article65338177.ece

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