The JWST launched on Dec. 25, 2021, and had reached by Jan. 24, 2022 an orbit to the Lagrange point L2 in the Earth-Sun system, about 1.5 million kilometers above the night side of Earth.
The JWST is 100 times more sensitive to electromagnetic waves than the Hubble telescope. With its 6.5-meter-diameter telescope mirror and its four infrared instruments, JWST is the largest and most powerful space observatory to date. The technical precision enables new views into the solar system, to look inside star-forming regions, and to analyze the chemical composition of the atmospheres of exoplanets in more detail.
The knowledge gained in the future will provide insight into the characterization of potential habitable zones and further advance research into whether there is life out there. Scientists are eagerly awaiting the first measurements.
The James Webb Space Telescope and its contribution to the study of exoplanets
