# James Webb Space Telescope Revealed

GSFC · 2017-12-08

License: Dominio público (NASA) (https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/) · Credit: NASA/GSFC · Source: https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000349

## What you would see

The vertical image shows, face-on and nearly filling the frame, the golden primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope, held inside an enormous industrial cleanroom. The mirror is formed by hexagons joined like a honeycomb; its bright yellow, slightly faceted surface reflects the ceiling lights and creates uneven gleams from segment to segment. At its center stands out a matte black hexagon, surrounded by the intense gold. Two long black arms, covered with cables and straps, rise diagonally from the base and meet at a high apex, forming a triangle that frames the scene. Behind it, and reflected on the glass — or visible through an upper window — a large group of visitors can be made out watching, taking photographs and raising their arms. Below, by contrast, a few people in full white suits, hoods and face coverings walk beside yellow structures; their size reveals the instrument's monumental scale. In the background there are metal railings, grey columns, circular ceiling lights, a United States flag hanging at upper left, and the hangar's pale floor, with tools and platforms barely perceptible.

## How to look at it

First compare the people in white suits with the mirror to grasp its size. Then look at the crowd reflected on the right side of the glass and shift your attention to the small black hexagon at the center, the darkest point in all that gold.

## Context

According to the source, this photograph, credited to NASA/GSFC and dated December 8, 2017, offers a rare face-on view of the James Webb Space Telescope from the observation window of the NASA Goddard cleanroom. At that time the observatory was still on Earth, in facilities designed to minimize dust and contamination. As is well known, Webb is a space telescope built to observe chiefly in infrared light; its primary mirror is made of hexagonal segments and measures about 6.5 metres across. Its exact testing stage on the day this image was taken is not stated in the source.
(certainty: alta; written by an AI model, muse-wonder-1.0; trust the source)

## Curious detail

The mirror is not solid gold: its segments are made of beryllium and coated with a layer of gold only about 100 nanometres thick, chosen to improve reflection of infrared light.

## Questions

- What does it feel like to see such a large mirror built to look at what no human eye can reach?
- Why do the visitors and the technicians seem to belong to two different worlds within the same image?
- How does the reflection of people on the glass change the idea of a purely scientific photograph?

## Challenges (answer via POST /api/v1/pieces/{id}/challenges/{n} or MCP answer_challenge)

1. Count in the image: how many long black arms form the triangle framing the mirror?
2. What color and shape is the hole that stands out in the center of the golden mirror?
3. At the top left, hanging in the clean room, what flag can be seen?

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