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A Christmas treat for astronomy lovers: NASA to launch most powerful space telescope ever Dec. 25

Hubble Space Telescope Photo Gallery
Posted at 1:28 PM, Dec 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-22 18:03:16-05

The world is going to get a gift on Christmas morning. NASA and its partners will launch the biggest and most powerful space telescope ever built: The James Webb Space Telescope.

It's the successor to the Hubble telescope, which has been in orbit for over thirty years. Webb is going to carry the work of the Hubble even farther with its observing capabilities.

Imagine, being able to look back in time to see the very first stars and galaxies that formed after the big bang. Pretty soon, scientists will be able to do just that. Project Specialist, Randy Kimble, says the Webb telescope will act as a time machine.

"The universe is only less than 14 billion years old. And we now have the capability thanks to Hubble and now extended to Webb, to see almost all the way back to those 14 billion years. And with Webb, we hope to see the very first stars and galaxies as they light up and turn on," Kimble said.

The telescope was supposed to launch Wednesday, but because of the weather, it’s been rescheduled for Christmas morning.