From now on, the James Webb Telescope will never see direct sunlight again. The telescope was also given the characteristic shape of a diamond.

But in the past few days, some crosses have already been made. For example, the day before yesterday was James Webb Stretched all his “neck”. This created an opening, creating enough space for the sun shield to fully unfold. In addition, on December 30, the covers that covered the folded sun shield were also successfully removed.

This morning at 4:13 AM Dutch time the whole procedure was done. A total of 107 release mechanisms were activated to unlock the sun shield. As a result, the telescope is now more than fourteen meters in diameter. A sun shield is a type of umbrella that protects telescope instruments and mirrors from the sun’s heat. This keeps the highly sensitive infrared devices cool and allows them to continue to function properly.

Although the sun shield had now opened, the shield still needed to be tightened tightly. This operation is taking place a little later than planned as James Webb’s team gets an extra day off today. The expectation is The shield will be tight after the end of the week.

Curious where the telescope is currently located? employment This page You can keep track of exactly where James Webb is and when the parts will be revealed again.