Science with Webb: the nearby cosmos

The James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) is designed to answer fundamental questions about the of Webb’s key science goals is to study the nearby cosmos: uncovering hidden parts of our Solar System, peering inside dust clouds where stars and planetary systems are forming, and revealing the composition of exoplanets in more to its powerful capabilities at infrared wavelengths, Webb will offer a unique view of the outer planets in our own magnificent Solar System. Looking beyond, Webb will study in detail the atmospheres of a wide diversity of can study exoplanets as they pass in front of their respective host stars (known as transiting). The tiny fraction of light that passes through the atmosphere interacts with atoms and molecules there. That light then carries information about them, which scientists use to infer conditions such as temperature, chemical composition and formation will search for atmospheres similar to Earth’s, and for the signatu