James webb space telescope launch

  That's why JWST is so expensive. Because  we've spent two decades building and testing every single piece a million ways to do everything to make sure it doesn't have problems

  Astronomers have outlined their vision for what comes after the James Webb Space Telescope. Not just the next space telescope to be launched — likely NASA's  Nancy Grace Roman telescope  in 2027 —but the next Webb-like telescope: a big flagship project for the future, recommended by astronomers today.

  With its gold mirrors, JWST should be able to see the infrared light from galaxies that are  up to 13.6 billion light-years away from Earth . And that's what makes the telescope a window into the past. Light from objects 13.6 billion light-years away will have taken that many years to reach the telescope's mirror.

  You can watch the momentous lift-off attempt, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021 at 4:20 a.m. PT (7:20 a.m. ET)  online on NASA TV . We'll also be live-blogging the event bright and early on Christmas morning to keep you updated in real time on the ambitious liftoff.

  The  approximately $10 billion  telescope, scheduled to launch as early as December 25, is designed to see light from the earliest galaxies to form after the Big Bang, and will let scientists study the atmospheres of planets that orbit distant stars, to search for signs of life.

  Unlike Hubble, it will be able to see  right into “stellar nurseries” , where stars and their planetary systems are being born. The observations will answer questions about how the clouds of dust and gas collapse to form stars and how planetary systems form around them.