4 ms·
I believe the six spikes from JWST are because of its hexagonal mirror segments.
by cainxinth 4y ago
I believe the six spikes from JWST are because of its hexagonal mirror segments.
- FourHand451 4y agoThis was my guess as well, but if it's correct, I don't understand why the Hubble images show 4 spikes. I thought Hubble's main mirror was circular, not a square.
- cainxinth 4y agoAs usual, wiki has the answer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction_spike https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction_spike >"...four spider vanes supporting the secondary mirror. These cause the four spike diffraction pattern commonly seen in astronomical images."