A Cathedral in Space

It’s not surprising to hear astronomers talk about the beauty of the stars. The stunning images from the James Webb Space Telescope certainly attest to such beauty.

The Crab Nebula. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Tea Temim (Princeton University)

But is there beauty in scientific equipment, like the Webb Telescope itself? Dr. Massimo Robberto thinks so.

Massimo is Branch Manager of the Webb Telescope's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) at the Space Telescope Science Institute. In this short video, Massimo explains that beauty is the way reality attracts us.

Scientists certainly pursue the deeper order and harmony in nature that captivates our senses. But Massimo also sheds light on how beauty is relevant to the process of building the James Webb Space Telescope, likening it to constructing a cathedral—a labor of love and precision meant to unveil the secrets of the cosmos for future generations.

Watch the video here:

Click above to watch the video


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