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I actually thought we chose L2 so that JWST could be shielded from the Sun by the Earth to keep it ultra cool. I didn’t realize it was solar powered.
by thehappypm 5y ago
I actually thought we chose L2 so that JWST could be shielded from the Sun by the Earth to keep it ultra cool. I didn’t realize it was solar powered.
- air7 5y agoNo. I thought so too, but it's orbit around L2 is bigger than the Moon's orbit around the Earth. It's never in Earth's shadow, but it's position allows it to block both the Sun and the Earth consistently with one shield without moving it. At least that's my current understanding...
- jacquesm 5y agoAt the L2 distance you'd have passed out of Earth's shadow cone even if exactly at L2, at best you'd be in the penumbra. But Webb has an orbit of 800,000 km radius around L2, which would put it will outside of that regardless. This gives some more appreciation for how large the sun is.
- thehappypm 5y agoWow! That’s pretty cool.