THE JAMES D. WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE WILL BE UP-DATED BY BOB MITCHELL

AMAZING  OPPORTUNITY  FOR OUR  COMMUNITY TO LEARN

 ABOUT  THE JAMES D. WEBB INFRA-RED SPACE TELESCOPE

     The San Juan Stargazers are so pleased to have Bob Mitchel as a guest speaker on Thursday, August 16, at 5PM at the Ruby Sission Library.  He has been working on the James D. Webb Infra-Red Space Telescope for at least a decade.  He spoke to our club and community members in 2013.  

      We know what the Hubble Space Telescope did for our knowledge of the Universe.  A library could be filled with the amazing photos and information we have learned.

The plan is that the Webb will be even better.  And it will answer many of the most important questions that humans can ask, such as, how did the Universe begin? Are we alone in the Universe?   How common is Life?   How common is Intelligent Life?  Can we possibly make contact?  This telescope will be so powerful that it will be able to see the atmospheres of  exo-planets.

      Making the Webb Telescope is a wonder in & of itself.  It will not orbit the Earth like the Hubble does and if mistakes are made, astronauts cannot go to fix it.  It will orbit the sun, a million miles away from us, so the builders CANNOT repair a mistake.

       It will be huge and cannot be launched into space ready to use.  Every part is folded & collapsed and must be able to unfold and fit together with commands from 1,000,000 miles away.  Most of the telescope is totally NEW in design.  Nothing like this has ever been built before.  So, designs are new and have never been tested in space and there can be NO MISTAKES.  And we think that we have stress! 

       I have started to make my list of questions for Bob.  And when I don’t feel like daily walking, I remind myself that in addition to wanting to see the next Lunar Standstill, I want to be here to learn what this incredible telescope can show us.

        I encourage EVERYONE, including interested students, to come and be amazed and inspired.

       A few notes=we want to make sure that working people will be able to attend. A 5PM time may make that difficult, so we will save a few chairs close to the door for late comers to quietly join us.  =We want to celebrate Bob’s work and this amazing Telescope, so people are invited to join us for a dinner celebration after his presentation. The restaurant location will be announced that night and there will be a wide price range of food available so everyone should be able to join us. =the Stargazers will hold their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, August 23.

      The San Juan Stargazers are part of the Astronomical League, which includes clubs from all over the US.  We have a web-site—www.SanJuanStargazers.com as well as an email address, sjstargazers@gmail.com and a club phone number 970-, to help communicate with the public. YOU  DO  NOT  WANT  TO  MISS  THIS!!!