The James Webb Space Telescope is a giant leap in the history of stargazing. Our view of the universe will never be the same.
In this lesson, based on The New York Times Magazine’s “A Beginner’s Guide to Looking at the Universe,” students learn about how Webb has helped scientists see the distant reaches of outer space more clearly and, in doing so, has helped us challenge and rebuild what we thought we already knew about the cosmos. The lesson encourages students to look closely at Webb images and videos and invites them to to create their own illustrated guide to Webb’s discoveries.
Warm-Up
Part I: Read the article’s introduction.
Nearly a million miles away, the James Webb Space Telescope just took a picture. Since transmitting its first data in late 2021, Webb has made stunning discoveries, including a plume of water spanning 6,000 miles in our solar system and a galaxy that formed only 390 million years after the Big Bang, or more than 13 billion years ago.
The telescope is an engineering marvel: Its massive mirror makes it possible to collect light from the faintest objects. It has multiple ways of blocking and dissecting that light, giving us detailed portraits of distant galaxies and close neighbors alike. And its position, orbiting the sun and using Earth as its shield, allows it to take pictures around the clock, sending us up to 57.2 gigabytes of data — the equivalent of tens of thousands of standard iPhone photos — every day. What’s it telling us about our past — and the future of cosmology?
What questions do you think Webb might help scientists answer about the universe?
Part II: Look closely at this picture that Webb took using its near-infrared camera.
Spend at least one minute studying the image (set a timer if you can). As you look, use these two questions to guide you:
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
Part III: Consider why we should care about what lies hidden in outer space.
Scientists are able to see more deeply and more clearly into the universe with the Webb telescope. In your opinion, why does that matter?
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the rest of the featured article and then answer the following questions, using the five sections to guide you.
Section 1: Ways of Seeing
What is infrared light? Why is detecting infrared wavelengths so useful in revealing otherwise-hidden regions in space?
Section 2: With Our Own Two Eyes
How has our ability to see in outer space changed over time?
Section 3: Dissecting Light
Webb doesn’t just capture light; it scatters and measures it. How does it do that, and why is that useful?
Section 4: Seeing Beyond
What can studying distant galaxies teach us about our own?
Section 5: Knowing and Unknowing
The author writes, “Webb helps us know but also to ‘unknow.’” What does that mean? Provide examples from the article and examine why unknowing is important.
What was most fascinating or surprising for you in the article? What questions do you still have about the Webb telescope or its discoveries? What questions do you hope Webb will help us to answer about the universe?
Going Further
Activity 1: Watch a video.
Watch one or more of these videos that focus on different corners of the universe. Then answer: What mysteries of our universe is Webb helping us to better understand?
Crab nebula
El Gordo galaxy cluster
NGC 346
Pandora’s Cluster
Pillars of Creation
Activity 2: Study an image.
Visit Webb’s Flickr page and scroll through the dozens of images posted in 2023. Choose one to study more closely. Then click on the image to learn more. Next, answer the same question as above: What mysteries of our universe is Webb helping us to better understand?
Activity 3: Create your own illustrated guide.
The New York Times Magazine created its guide to the Webb telescope using text, illustrations and pictures from Webb.
Create your own beginner’s guide to looking at the universe. You can start with the same opening line, “The James Webb telescope is a giant leap in the history of stargazing. Our view of the universe will never be the same.” Then select images from Flickr 2023 and Flickr 2022 that you think show Webb’s power in making discoveries and revealing new mysteries, and tell your own story about how Webb is revolutionizing stargazing.
