HACKER Q&A
📣 curious_cat_163

What were some key scientific breakthroughs between JWST and Hubble?


I keep wondering what made it possible for JWST to see what Hubble couldn't see.

I can think of things to do with the image processing of the light that can now be captured. However, was it really to do with computational techniques?

Or, was it the optics, i.e. some 'analogue' means that made it possible?

I was hoping someone on here knew about it or could point me someplace.

Thanks.

  👤 ggm Accepted Answer ✓
Better mechanics behind mirrors. I suspect the flaw in Hubble would not exist if they had the MEMS class movement methods, and stable thin mirror methods being used in JWST.

Cooling for IR has improved. I read some stuff about how in Microwave and related space they use thermally stable "standard" black bodies to do differential analysis of things being seen, and the reference. I would imagine things like Vanta-Black help there with low reflectance stable sources for comparison.

CCDs have come on immensely. They'd be two orders of magnitude "bigger" and also actually "smaller pixels" so to speak.

Not in the field, I also would welcome a competent VLSI/Mecha/Astro response! It's a fascinating field.