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Cool Stuff Daily

Tue. 12/21 - Why the Webb Telescope Launch Is Freaking Out Astronomers

Cool Stuff Daily

Reggie Risseeuw and Marques Pfaff

Tech News, News, Science, Society & Culture

4.6739 Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2021

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The James Webb Space Telescope is launching on Friday. Here’s what to expect, and why astronomers are so stressed out about it. Plus, Scotland may soon be issuing a three centuries overdue pardon to victims of its many witchcraft trials. And when the snowstorms come this season, your town might just be de-icing the roads with beet juice. Sponsors: GiveWell, Have your donation matched up to $250 by entering Kottke Ride Home at check out at GiveWell.org Shopify, Get a 14-day free trial at shopify.com/kottke Links: Webb Telescope Approaches Launch, With an Eye Toward Cosmic Origins (NY Times) James Webb Space Telescope: how our launch of world's most complex observatory will rest on a nail-biting knife edge (The Conversation) Watch this space: New telescope to unlock mysteries of the cosmos (NBC News) Astronomers are freaking out over the launch of the James Webb telescope. (Slate) NASA refuses to rename James Webb Space Telescope (NPR) NASA Sets Coverage, Invites Public to View Webb Telescope Launch (NASA) Witches of Scotland: Bill to be brought forward to pardon women and others convicted of witchcraft (The Scotsman) Women executed 300 years ago as witches in Scotland set to receive pardons (The Guardian) UN adopts landmark resolution condemning witchcraft accusations (Humanists International) March episode about witches & ale wives (Kottke Ride Home) To Beat Winter, Cities Fight Back, With Beets (Bloomberg) Kottke.Org Jackson Bird on Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:28.7

welcome to the cotkey ride home for t Tuesday, December 21st, 2021. I'm Jackson Bird today.

0:42.7

The James Webb Space Telescope is launching on Friday. Here's what to expect and why

0:48.4

astronomers are so stressed out about it. Plus, Scotland may soon be issuing a three centuries overdue pardon to the victims of

0:58.7

its many witchcraft trials.

1:01.1

And when the snowstorms come this season, your town might just be de-icing the roads

1:06.8

with beet juice.

1:08.7

Here are some of the cool things from the news today.

1:14.2

So this Friday, Christmas Eve, fingers crossed, the James Webb Space Telescope will

1:20.7

finally take to the skies. Delayed numerous times stretching the resources of multiple

1:26.9

space agencies as part of an international

1:29.0

collaboration and ultimately costing $10 billion. The most expensive and biggest telescope

1:36.2

in history is poised to answer many questions that we've had about the origins of the universe

1:42.1

and probably lead to even more. Quoting Slate,

1:46.9

the space telescope you're probably most familiar with is Hubble, launched in 1990. Hubble showed

1:52.1

us the age of the universe, the black holes at the core of nearly every galaxy, and a 3D map

1:58.1

of dark matter, with its 7.8 foot primary mirror and cameras, spectrographs, and

2:03.0

interferometers. JWST expands humanity's views by looking at the infrared slice of the light

...

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