NASA’s Webb Telescope on display at New York City
The life-sized model of NASA’s next generation space telescope is being set up in New York City’s Battery Park for the 2010 World Science Festival, which runs June 1- June 6. The opening ceremony will be held in front of the model on June 1. The Webb telescope full scale model dramatically highlights how far the next generation of space telescopes will be from its predecessors. It’s unlike any telescope you’ve ever seen.
The actual size model is highly detailed. It is constructed mainly of aluminum and steel, weighs 12,000 pounds, is approximately 80 feet long, 40 feet wide and 40 feet tall. It is as large as a tennis court. The model requires 2 trucks to ship it and assembly takes a crew of 12 approximately four days. The model will be lit up from its base so that night-time viewers can take in all the details.
For six days in June, New York City residents can get a free look at the full-scale model of the Webb telescope as it sits on display in Battery Park. The model viewing hours run from Tuesday, June 1 from 9:00 a.m. to Sunday, June 6 at 9:00 p.m. EDT. Visitors will be able to learn about what the Webb telescope is going to show scientists, play with interactive exhibits, watch videos about what the Webb will be exploring in the cosmos, and even ask scientists about the telescope.
Since 2005, the model has journeyed to Florida, Germany, Ireland and Washington, D.C. The actual Webb space telescope is going a lot further, about a million miles from Earth!
If you’re in New York City, you might want to check this out.
