Albuquerque
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Enrichment in All Math (Algebra I & II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, Chemistry), English, Science, ACT, SAT, PSAT Focusing on K-12 Ask about our NEW Online and Inhouse classes Homework Help COVID-Safe Environment
Summer Registration Open Now! Math - Reading - Reading Comprehension Phonics - Science - English & More! 5528 Eubank, Suite 6, Albuquerque, NM 87111 www.mytutorme.com facebook.com/mytutorme
Albuquerque
All Saints Lutheran Church Preschool and Childcare Open for 33 Years Infant/Toddler (6 months to 36 months) Preschool Children (3 to 5 years) Enjoy a challenging, educationally sound program in a clean, kind, fun, loving and caring environment!
Flexible Schedules/Reasonable Rates Year-round Program Continuous Registration Call 897‑2144 to schedule a tour. Visit the school and see the playground. Meet the teachers.
4800 All Saints Rd. NW (Eagle Ranch & Paseo del Norte) allsaintsabq.org/preschool
Albuquerque
32
New Mexico Kids!
March/April 2022
The Young Scientist By AILEEN O’CATHERINE
Is it possible to see the invisible? When astronomers launched the James Webb Space Telescope on Dec. 25, 2021, their mission was to see light that is invisible to human eyes. This kind of light, called infrared radiation, may not be seen, but it can be felt as heat. Firefighters use infrared cameras to rescue people in a fire when it’s difficult to see through the smoke. It can be difficult to see things in space, which is filled with dust. But with a tool like the James Webb Telescope, scientists will peer through the dust clouds and make new discoveries. And because the telescope is outside the Earth’s atmosphere, there will be little interference from the atmosphere, which can distort what’s seen through earth-based telescopes. Scientists will use the Webb to look for signs of life on planets outside our solar system that are orbiting other suns. They are called exoplanets. To learn about planets, scientists read the rainbow of light, also known as the electromagnetic spectrum, that a planet emits. If they look at a planet and it has oxygen and carbon dioxide, which appear on the blue and purple end of the spectrum, they wonder if life could exist there like it does on Earth. They look for other elements that appear in the yellow and red end of the spectrum, such as sulfur dioxide. A planet with sulfur dioxide has an environment that could be toxic to human life because it probably rains acid instead of water. The Webb will help scientists find exoplanets that may have life like that found on Earth. The Webb was launched into space on a rocket, and once in space, unfolded like an origami paper crane to reveal its 18 mirrors. A space telescope sees by using mirrors to collect light from stars. The bigger the mirror, the more the telescope can see. The 18 Webb mirrors fit together to make one large mirror. Over a period of three months, the mirrors will be aligned so they can “see” clearly. The Webb is the largest, most powerful, most complex telescope ever launched into space. Within the first year of its ability to operate, it will observe 19 galaxies in infrared-light images. This will provide scientists with a better idea of the life cycle of stars and the phases of the starformation cycle. When the first space telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, was launched on April 24, 1990, scientists hoped to learn about the celestial bodies found in space. They hoped to study the history and evolution of the universe. They did so with cameras that looked at light in the visible spectrum. The work of the Hubble has provided scientists with a great deal of knowledge about black holes, dark matter, the shape of the Milky Way galaxy and more. The Hubble’s discoveries have been deep and exciting. Even before Hubble launched, NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) began plans for a “Next Generation Space Telescope.” That telescope is the James Webb Telescope, which is significantly larger than Hubble. STScI oversees the Webb Telescope. As part of its program of next generation telescopes, STScI plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in late 2026. As part of a line of space telescopes, Webb will help solve the mysteries of distant worlds around other stars. It will peer at the origins of the universe and look closely at galaxies. It will enable scientific discoveries and expand the frontiers of space astronomy. It will allow astronomers to see things they may not even have imagined yet.
