Caption: Scientists working on the Webb Telescope say it's so revolutionary, it’s like “our generation’s Apollo.”
Scientists working on the Webb Telescope say it's so revolutionary, it’s like “our generation’s Apollo.” 

An Extra-Chilly Successor To Hubble

From: Rebecca Sheir
Length: 00:06:22

Embed_button
Come winter, your neck of the woods may be cold. But guess how frigid the James Webb Space Telescope will be when it launches in 2018? 400 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. For real. Read the full description.
Playing
An Extra-Chilly Successor To Hubble
From
Rebecca Sheir

Jwst_small Think about the last time you were cold. As in, teeth-chattering, goosebump-raising, shivering-in-your-boots cold. You were probably outside, and the temperature very well could have been below zero. Washington, D.C.'s lowest recorded temperature is 15 degrees below zero. And in a slightly colder place - such as Alaska -- it's more like 80 below.

But if you take that last number - 80 degrees below zero - and multiply it by five, you'll get an idea of just how cold the James Webb Space Telescope will be after it's launched a million miles from Earth, in the year 2018. Those super-cold temps help keep the telescope's images clear. And as Rebecca Sheir tells us, that's a good thing, since the Webb Telescope will be doing some pretty out-of-this-world research...

An Extra-Chilly Successor To Hubble | 00:06:22

Privacy

More from Rebecca Sheir

Caption: The Packard Campus is roughly 500,000 square feet, built into the side of a mountain in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains., Credit: Library of Congress/Matt Raymond

Library Of Congress Preserves A Treasure Trove... Underground (short version) (00:03:28)
From: Rebecca Sheir

What do you get when you take a former Cold War bunker and fill it with the world’s largest collection of films, TV shows, radio broadcasts and sound recordings?
Caption: The Packard Campus is roughly 500,000 square feet, built into the side of a mountain in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains., Credit: Library of Congress Photo/ Matt Raymond

Library Of Congress Preserves A Treasure Trove... Underground (00:06:38)
From: Rebecca Sheir

What do you get when you take a former Cold War bunker and fill it with the world’s largest collection of films, TV shows, radio broadcasts and sound recordings?
Caption: The original Virginia Is For Lovers slogan/logo, created by Martin & Woltz (now The Martin Agency) in 1968., Credit: The Martin Agency

Is Virginia Really For Lovers? (00:05:50)
From: Rebecca Sheir

The real story behind one of the most famous tourism slogans of all time.
Caption: This rough sketch for a children's book drew one D.C. native into a mystery regarding “Colored Only” signs in D.C. in the 1930s. , Credit: Rebecca Sheir

Remembering the Subtle Signs of Segregation (00:07:41)
From: Rebecca Sheir

A well-meaning illustration in a children's book sparks controversy over segregation in the nation's capital in the 1930s.
Caption: At age 29, Martin Spitznagel is the World Champion of Old-Time Piano Playing., Credit: Martin Spitznagel

From Scott Joplin to Super Mario Bros.: Making Old-Time Piano New Again (00:03:48)
From: Rebecca Sheir

A 20-something pianist is making old-time piano new again... with a little help from Darth Vader and Super Mario Bros.
Caption: The Big Board offers a stock exchange... for beer., Credit: agencyQ

A Beer'n'Burger Stock Exchange: The Big Board (00:03:45)
From: Rebecca Sheir

A new restaurant is trying to corner the market on neighborhood pubs, with beer prices that fluctuate in real time, based on customer demand.
Caption: 97-year-old Jim Dandy says "clothes are people, and people are clothes.", Credit: Rebecca Sheir

Keeping It Clean For Nearly 80 Years: The Talented Jim Dandy (00:04:28)
From: Rebecca Sheir

Meet a man who's been dry cleaning for nearly 80 years, with a little bit of stain-removing savvy... and a whole lot of love.
Caption: At RAS, you can order Caribbean food (like the Bake and Shark, left) or Ethiopian cuisine (like the vegetarian platter, right)., Credit: Rebecca Sheir

Injera Bread & Shark Meat: Tasting Ethiopia & Jamaica (00:04:46)
From: Rebecca Sheir

What happens when Africa and the Caribbean culinarily collide in the U.S. capital? Dig in and find out!
Caption: There's quite a story behind D.C.'s first fireproof residence..., Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/josepha/2977738045/

The House That Beer -- and Pyrophobia -- Built (00:04:42)
From: Rebecca Sheir

After losing a home and two breweries to fire, one German beermaker vowed not to let history repeat itself... and built an extraordinary house that would never go up in smoke.
Caption: Charles Mokotoff spent years hiding his hearing loss, as he performed and taught classical guitar., Credit: Cathy Dyer

Keeping the Music Playing... After Losing Your Hearing (00:06:10)
From: Rebecca Sheir

Finding out you have hearing loss might not be music to your ears... but it doesn't mean you have to change your tune.

Piece Description

Think about the last time you were cold. As in, teeth-chattering, goosebump-raising, shivering-in-your-boots cold. You were probably outside, and the temperature very well could have been below zero. Washington, D.C.'s lowest recorded temperature is 15 degrees below zero. And in a slightly colder place - such as Alaska -- it's more like 80 below.

But if you take that last number - 80 degrees below zero - and multiply it by five, you'll get an idea of just how cold the James Webb Space Telescope will be after it's launched a million miles from Earth, in the year 2018. Those super-cold temps help keep the telescope's images clear. And as Rebecca Sheir tells us, that's a good thing, since the Webb Telescope will be doing some pretty out-of-this-world research...

Broadcast History

This piece originally aired on WAMU 88.5's Metro Connection, on January 13, 2012.

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

OUTRO:

Rebecca Sheir is the host of Metro Connection, on W-A-M-U 88-5 in Washington, D-C.

Related Website

http://wamu.org/programs/metro_connection/12/01/13/nasa_builds_an_extra_chilly_successor_to_hubble

Sign up for PRX

Log in

Piece Statistics

Actions

Topics

Formats

Tones

Of 4 purchasers of this piece...