Is anyone else here really excited for the implementation of this project...

Same government idiots (or at least, same idiotic thinking) that did cancel the Superconducting Super Collider.

This is pretty much what I'm living for right now. Waiting for first light from this beautiful machine is
pretty much the thing I'm looking forward to more than anything else in the world.

RRRRRREEEEEE ENGINEERS GET OUT NOT SCIENCE

That thing looks more like a giant hand clawing up than I remembered.

>Beryllium
Truly the best metal

>but the lead people get promoted in the end
And this is good - why??

Pretty dangerous really, few doctors recognize beryllosis anymore.

JWST's ERS (early release science) is the first chance astronomers have to get data, letters of intent have already been submitted. The topics for ERS are the topics JWST will benefit (and are sexy).

> first light and reionization; the assembly of galaxies; the birth of stars and protoplanetary systems; and planets and the origin of life

The first two was the original headline science for NGST. Currently Hubble is limited by it's lack of long wavelength bands in identifying very high redshift galaxies. JWST longer wavelengths and improved sensitivity will allow for early galaxies to be observed and fainter ones. The early ones are obviously important as they are the first galaxies, the later are important because they ionised the universe for the first time since it cooled in the early universe. How reionisation occurred is not known, we do know roughly when. JWST will make great leaps here as Hubble can identify high redshift galaxies and no more, it is only sensitive to their UV emission redshifted into the near infrared. JWST will actually start to ask what these early structures were like. This is the big ticket science which will culminate in a JWST Ultra Deep Field and a wider survey like GOODS, these however are big investments and probably won't happen immediately. JWST could also do a spectroscopic deep field.

As for the assembly of galaxies there are still great uncertainties across more recent eras, we are limited in using lesser techniques than those we use on the modern universe because the rich visible band moves into the infrared. JWST will allow for like for like comparison.

On the topic of the birth of stars this is again something Hubble is not great at. Stars are formed in dusty dense regions where short wavelengths of light don't penetrate due to the dust. The mid infrared instrument will be particularly powerful in this respect.

...

To be fair that was done with WFC3 which was launched in 2009. It's not particularly old.

I've actually stood next to one of the mirrors in person. This thing is going to be huge.

...
The last one is probably the most popular in the wider world. JWST contrary to misconception doesn't have a great ability to image exoplanets, it does carry coronographs but they're not great for earth like planets. It will image young massive planets. Also protoplanetary disks in detail.

It's greatest advantage will be in spectroscopy of exoplanet atmospheres and very sensitive photometry. Hubble can do the former but only very poorly, it's not something that can be done from the ground well yet. With JWST it will have a proper spectrograph so stands a real chance of detecting possible biomarkers like O2 (which may be ambiguous but that's a long conversation). Very sensitive photometry may sound dull but remember it was Spitzer an infrared telescope which was used to make maps of giant exoplanets. This was done using photometry sensitive enough to see changes in the brightness of the whole system as the star eclipses different parts of the planet. It's course but it's the only way to image planets as resolved objects so far. This can only be done so far in the infrared where the planets are brighter.

There's lots to look forward to. These are but a few. Personally I am on 2 ERS LOIs and they aren't really covered by anything I've said here.

Astronomy has had ZERO practical results so far

Imagine if science had a larger budget to do cool things.

Like perhaps navigation, time keeping and agriculture? Astronomy is the oldest natural science, it has had many practical applications.

The amount of people it has inspired and inventions/science it has already brought about says you are incorrect.

This you?

Does religion have a practical result?

Yes, if you see through the bullshit, you gain some insight into your place in the world, and how to not be a shitty human being.

Science is part of the result of the attempt to distill religious understanding into its purest and most logical result, having begun with natural philosophy. Astronomy, more than any other science, bears this mark. It is quite literally finding our place in the universe, and as such, is deeply related to our sense of self and spirituality, even if a large number of the populace has failed to appreciate this fact, and as much as it is being lost on today's scientists, despite the prevalence of this idea in past decades.

So is it practical in the sense of making something we can sell? No.

Is it practical in the sense of illustrating, in a deeply real sense, the place of humanity, and offering us humility in the face of our past pride? In making us see ourselves as part of a greater whole, in which we must invariably participate but in which we are absurdly, impossibly unimportant? In allowing us to learn to take solace in our littleness, to forgo our attachments? Absolutely.

been hyped for years

really hope nothing goes wrong

It's engineering enabled by science, that enables new science. More than a little relevant.

The face of god

I'm uncomfortable with the idea that people like you post here. Hopefully you just randomly clicked on Veeky Forums because you were bored.

Used to be hyped, but then I realized that astronomy isn't just about optical telescopes. They produce the pretty pictures for outreach, but all the major discoveries weren't made with pretty pictures. There's other stuff, incredibly interesting stuff, around the corner when it comes to astronomy, covering the whole electromagnetic spectrum and beyond.

Which rocket is taking this thing to space?

So, if this thing doesnt pick up aliens its pretty much confirmed that we are alone isnt it?

Ariane Space with Ariane 5. The only launch provider that has a "walk-out/strike" clause in its launch contracts

>"walk-out/strike" clause
can you describe what this is?

Not at all.

Guessing he's refering to this:
spaceflightnow.com/2017/03/23/launches-from-kourou-suspended-by-social-unrest/