The Webb tool is ready to work: for this it had to be extremely cooled

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has completed preparations for launch and is now ready

to work on the James Webb Space Telescope.

As part of the latest test, telescope engineerstested with MIRI the possibility of coronographic imaging, which uses two different styles of masks. The goal is to intentionally block starlight from reaching the sensors when Webb observes the planets orbiting the star. Such customized masks allow scientists to directly detect exoplanets and study the dust disks around their host stars like never before.

Along with three other Webb instruments,MIRI first cooled in the shade of a tennis court-sized telescope's sunshield to about an extreme temperature of 90 Kelvin (-183°C). But in order for the equipment to perform its intended tasks, it was necessary to reduce the temperature of the equipment to 7 Kelvin (-266.15 ° C) and below. These extreme operating temperatures allow MIRI to transmit images and mid-infrared spectra with an unparalleled combination of sharpness and sensitivity.

MIRI is a camera and spectrograph thatmonitors medium and long infrared radiation from 5 to 28 microns. It also has coronagraphs, which are especially important for observing exoplanets.

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