Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 36 minutes ago
The NIRSpec instrument is the workhorse near-infrared spectrograph on board the James Webb Space Telescope and is provided by ESA.
The primary goal of NIRSpec is to enable large spectroscopic surveys of astronomical objects such as stars or distant galaxies. This is made possible by its powerful multi-object spectroscopy mode, which makes use of microshutters. This mode is capable of obtaining spectra of up to nearly 200 objects simultaneously, over a 3.6×3.4 arcminute field of view – the first time this capability has been provided from space. This mode makes for very efficient use of Webb’s valuable observing time.
This animation shows the path followed by light from an astronomical object as it travels through the NIRSpec components and onto the detector.
~ 0:22 min: The light from the telescope enters NIRSpec via the Pick-off Mirror.
~ 0.27 min: The second flat mirror directs the beam towards the FORE optics that form an image of the sky onto the Micro Shutter Assembly (MSA).
~ 0:36 min: The light passes through a Filter Wheel Assembly (FWA) for selecting specific wavelength bands and through the refocusing mechanism (RMA).
~ 0:42 min: A sharp image of the sky is formed onto the MSA plane.
~ 0:46 min: Light that passed through open MSA shutters enters the spectrometer.
~ 0:49 min: The collimator optics brings the beam to the Grating Wheel Assembly (GWA).
~ 0:52 min: The Grating or Prism unravels the incoming beam in all its wavelengths by dispersing it vertically.
~ 0:55 min: The Camera optical system forms spectra of each scientific object onto the detector.
NIRSpec will allow scientists to study objects embedded in shrouds of gas and dust, to find out more about how galaxies formed and evolved, and to characterise the atmospheres of extrasolar planets to determine if water is present.
Source: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2021/09/Webb_NIRSpec_multi-object_spectrograph
The NIRSpec instrument is the workhorse near-infrared spectrograph on board the James Webb Space Telescope and is provided by ESA.
The primary goal of NIRSpec is to enable large spectroscopic surveys of astronomical objects such as stars or distant galaxies. This is made possible by its powerful multi-object spectroscopy mode, which makes use of microshutters. This mode is capable of obtaining spectra of up to nearly 200 objects simultaneously, over a 3.6×3.4 arcminute field of view – the first time this capability has been provided from space. This mode makes for very efficient use of Webb’s valuable observing time.
This animation shows the path followed by light from an astronomical object as it travels through the NIRSpec components and onto the detector.
~ 0:22 min: The light from the telescope enters NIRSpec via the Pick-off Mirror.
~ 0.27 min: The second flat mirror directs the beam towards the FORE optics that form an image of the sky onto the Micro Shutter Assembly (MSA).
~ 0:36 min: The light passes through a Filter Wheel Assembly (FWA) for selecting specific wavelength bands and through the refocusing mechanism (RMA).
~ 0:42 min: A sharp image of the sky is formed onto the MSA plane.
~ 0:46 min: Light that passed through open MSA shutters enters the spectrometer.
~ 0:49 min: The collimator optics brings the beam to the Grating Wheel Assembly (GWA).
~ 0:52 min: The Grating or Prism unravels the incoming beam in all its wavelengths by dispersing it vertically.
~ 0:55 min: The Camera optical system forms spectra of each scientific object onto the detector.
NIRSpec will allow scientists to study objects embedded in shrouds of gas and dust, to find out more about how galaxies formed and evolved, and to characterise the atmospheres of extrasolar planets to determine if water is present.
Source: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2021/09/Webb_NIRSpec_multi-object_spectrograph
![August 9, 2011 Earth-directed X6.9 Solar Flare [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/puZY-jCCGM4/mqdefault.jpg "August 9, 2011 Earth-directed X6.9 Solar Flare [HD]
...http://www.telescopefeed.com/
This video taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet (131 angstrom) shows the August 9, 2011, X7 class flare which started at 3:48 AM EDT from sunspot 1263. The brunt of the explosion was not Earth-directed.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=105694111")
![Gale Crater - Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover Landing Site [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w5DK3SxolJI/mqdefault.jpg "Gale Crater - Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover Landing Site [HD]
...http://www.telescopefeed.com/
A birds-eye view of Curiositys landing site: Mars Gale Crater.
Transcript: John Grotzinger: Im John Grotzinger, the project scientist for Mars Science Laboratory the Curiosity rover and were going to take Curiosity to our chosen landing site in Gale crater, which sits at the border between the southern highlands of Mars and the northern lowlands, a really exciting spot because its very low and thats the kind of place where water might have pooled and possibly formed lakes.
So here we see a different view of Gale crater that has a different perspective. You can see our landing ellipse down at the bottom, which is the white circle. And in the middle of Gale crater is this mountain of rock that is 5 kilometers high, made layer by layer by layer. But the layers at the bottom are the ones that were most interested in, because we think that those were deposited in an aqueous environment, which is very important for understanding habitability. What you can see here now is that were about to land very close to the center of the landing ellipse, and we have a couple of different routes that we can take. The scientists on the team prefer the one on the right. And so what we would do is drive along it.
And now you can see at the base of this mountain where these lower layers are. And the layers are important because they allow us to sort of read a geological book. You start at the bottom of the mountain and those are the oldest layers. And then the layers that occur up near the top, those are the youngest parts, the youngest chapters in the book.
We will drive along, up to this outcrop that we call the fence. And when we get there, were going to study it. Its a really attractive spot for us because it contains the kind of minerals that formed in water. And then, when were done with that, were going to go beyond. And were going to enter a canyon. And this kind of terrain around here reminds us a lot of Sedona, Arizona. And all the rocks around here formed in aqueous environments. And so, theres a lot of rock, hundreds of meters of it, layer after layer, that we can study to tell us about the history of Mars at Gale crater.
Now we cross a boundary and we go into a very different type of rock. You can see how it weathers very differently. Its really rugged. So at that point in the mission, well be beyond our initial mission of two Earth years. This will take us into many years afterwards of exploration as we drive around this very rugged terrain. If we make it, well be able to look back over the area that we have previously studied, back down in towards the bottom of Gale crater, back towards our landing ellipse.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=102633381")
