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Closer Look At NASA's Newest Eye In Space: The James Webb Space Telescope

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--A golden honeycomb, the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope that's 21-feet in diameter, will go deeper into space and farther back in time than any telescope before it.

"We have to shake the mirror and also blast it with sound to make sure it will withstand the stresses it will encounter during launch," Dr. Amber Straughn, with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope which was close enough for astronauts to update, the Webb will be parked a million miles from earth. It needs the distance because it needs deep cold, to see objects in infrared light, perhaps even the universe's first stars.

"We hope with this telescope to see the very first galaxies that were born after the big bang. Using infrared light we're able to peer back in time and see galaxies as they were billions of years ago," Straughn said.

The Webb Telescope will also search for planets orbiting other stars, capable of supporting life.

"And that's one of the most exciting things I think this telescope is going to do," said Straughn.

By reading a planet's atmosphere as it passes in front of its star.

"In the infrared part of the spectrum we'll be able to detect water vapor in these planets. This telescope is definitely our next step in the search for life in the universe," Straughn said.

The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in 2018.

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