Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou
 

We know this is a departure from the Imaginarium's operations. Bear in mind these departures are required and aim to keep everyone healthy, and are in conformance with our required Mitigation Plan. See link below.
http://aerospace.wcc.hawaii.edu/COVID19/Hokulani%20COVID%2019%20Mitigation%20Plan%20Dec%202021.pdf

                              
We are also happy to announce that our January shows include the return of our ever popular live sky show with Krissie Kellogg, beginning Wednesday January 12, at 7p.m. We hope to see you soon 

Who Wanted a Telescope For Christmas? Well, even if it was not on your wish list, you got one –
 
On Christmas morning the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched into space to replace the beloved Hubble telescope. And this was no stocking stuffer gift. It’s a 10 billion dollar gift from NASA and some of their closest friends in the European and Canadian space agencies.
 
The Webb Telescope is designed to outstrip and complement the Hubble telescope. Hubble answered questions that weren't even being asked in the 1990s when it was launched, while shedding light on old questions like: how fast is the universe expanding? And how old it is?
 
Hubble discovered moons of Pluto and proved that most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their core. And it created a three-dimensional map of the dark matter in the universe. These are amazing discoveries that are a great return on investment.
 
But there are more questions that need answering, which require new capabilities. That's why the Webb Telescope, is so important. It will look further back in time than the Hubble can, and it will answer questions that the Hubble can't.
 
The primary difference between the Hubble and the JWST is the wavelength of light that they are designed to image. Hubble is sensitive to ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light (200-2,400 nanometers). In contrast, JWST is focused mostly on the infrared spectrum (600-28,000 nanometers), with some limited capability of seeing some red/orange visible light, but not the other colors. This change in technology will allow us to peer more deeply into the past and get a firsthand look at how our universe came to be.
 
Over the last century or so, scientists have determined that the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago in a cataclysmic event called the Big Bang.
 
The oldest galaxy that the Hubble telescope has photographed existed about 400 million years after the Big Bang. With its enhanced ability to image infrared light, JWST will be able to see stars and galaxies that are much older -- ones that were born a mere 200 million years after the Big Bang -- maybe even older. In short, the James Webb telescope will be able to see when the cosmos transitioned from a dark and invisible void, to the star-filled universe we see today This will be a tremendous advance for astronomy.
 

Provided by Space This NASA graphic shows the James Webb Space Telescope's antenna assembly (circled) after its deployment on Dec. 26, 2021.

It's a bird; it’s a plane; it’s a flying tennis court. . . . .
 
Another major difference between the Hubble telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope is that when JWST leaves the Earth's atmosphere, it won't be quite ready to operate. Now isn’t that just like a Christmas toy that you need to put together before you can really play with it? When fully deployed, JWST is about the size of a tennis court, but it is all folded up to fit inside the rocket shroud. The telescope will take about two weeks to unfold. While it's unfolding, it will be traveling to the L2 point, a journey that will take about a month.
 
Unlike the Hubble telescope, which orbits a few hundred miles above the Earth's surface and is relatively accessible for servicing missions, the JWST will be located at what is called the L2 point, a location about a million miles farther away from the sun than the Earth. This location was chosen because it makes it possible to shield the JWST's sensitive instruments from infrared (i.e. heat) emitted from the sun, Earth and moon. Without that shield, the JWST telescope wouldn't work.
 
Of course, with JWST's location so far away from Earth, it is impossible for astronauts to service the facility. It simply has to work. And because of the telescope's remote location, it will not be possible to replenish consumables like coolant for the instruments and rocket fuel to keep the telescope in the correct location and oriented properly. This means that unlike the Hubble's 30+ year (and counting) mission, JWST is expected to operate for five years, although the engineers and scientists who built it hope it will have a ten-year lifespan. Those extra five years would be a huge boon to the astronomical community.
 
Once the instrument is in place, the JWST technical staff will spend about six months performing tests to make sure that it will work as designed.
 
And then the fun begins. While researchers have a clear plan on what the telescope will search for, it's a near certainty that astronomers will also discover things they didn't anticipate. We can only hazard a guess at what we might learn about the universe in the next five years. The Big question is will the Webb Space Telescope provide the knowledge and information to answer age-old questions or leave us with more questions????
Stay tuned. 
                                                                         
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Our Online Resources Update
Hokulani Star Stories - 
A new star story - The Triplet Stars - A Korean star story,  will be uploaded to the website during the month of January. 

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For information about  Imaginarium shows and events contact:
Manager, Dineene O‘Connor, at 808-235-7350 or dineene@hawaii.edu.                                                                                
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Our admission prices are:

 

Please visit and LIKE our WCC Imaginarium Facebook Page.

 

As always, we welcome your feedback or questions, feel free to phone (808) 235-7350 or email to dineene@hawaii.edu. If you would like information regarding our Adopt-a-Show sponsorship program please click here.

Dineene O'Connor

Manager, Hōkūlani Imaginarium
Windward Community College
Hale Imiloa 135A
Office (808) 235-7350