The James Webb Telescope just started it’s scientific work. The amazing pictures and information is definitely better than Hubbles. What will now happen with Hubble?
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asked Jul 14, 2022 at 12:56
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1$\begingroup$ remember that JWST can't even see very much of the sky, because the sunshield has to point at the sun! $\endgroup$– user253751Jul 15, 2022 at 16:54
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8$\begingroup$ @user253751 “The sunshield geometry and size were determined such that the telescope can point within a field of regard that covers 40% of the sky at any time and can observe anywhere in the sky over six months.” - blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2021/12/30/… $\endgroup$– fyrepenguinJul 15, 2022 at 17:45
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5$\begingroup$ Observation time on JWST is (or is going to be) booked solid, with proposals needing approval to pick the most valuable ones to actually get observation time. I assume the same will continue to be true for Hubble. Hubble time is a lot better than nothing, and still good for many scientific purposes. Some projects might apply for either or both, if they want to observe in wavelengths that both can see, either with Hubble as a 2nd choice, or hoping to get both to spread out observations across more wavelengths. (I'm guessing at this part, I didn't search for confirmation.) $\endgroup$– Peter CordesJul 15, 2022 at 21:14
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1$\begingroup$ Astronomy SE: What (if any) capabilities of Hubble are unique and irreplaceable? What can it do that can't be done by any other ground or space-based telescope? $\endgroup$– uhohJul 15, 2022 at 23:54
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4$\begingroup$ Just because you bought a Porsche doesn't mean your Ferrari becomes useless. :-) $\endgroup$– JensJul 16, 2022 at 13:14
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2 Answers
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Hubble and JWST work with different wavelength ranges, Hubble with UV, visible light and near infrared (200 to 1000 nm and 800 to 1700 nm), JWST with visible red to mid infrared 0.6–28.3 μm.
Only images at 600 to 1700 nm may be done by both telescopes. Images of very far objects may be done only with JWST. Images of closer objects with wavelengths shorter than 600 nm only with Hubble.
Hubble may be used as a pathfinder for JWST, Hubble has a wider field of view and JWST has a better resolution for the wavelength range covered by both telescopes.
So both would be used as long as possible.
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Since it is not broken, the intention is to keep it operational as long as possible. The most recent estimate I could find is that the HST will likely remain operational until at least 2026:
"Right now, all of the subsystems and the instruments have a reliability exceeding 80 percent through 2025," Hubble mission head Thomas Brown of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland told Space.com.
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4$\begingroup$ Could they do cross-calibration in the overlapping wavelength range? I know this is quite common in telescopes that look at Earth, but don't know what's common for astronomical observations. $\endgroup$– gerritJul 15, 2022 at 7:39
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1$\begingroup$ @gerrit I doubt that there will be observations specifically devoted to cross-calibrating with Hubble, but, of course, there will be many calibration activities. Also, there are plenty of things in the sky that don't change on a human time scale, and there are plenty of observations of them in the Hubble database. JWST will observe many of these, either intentionally or accidentally. $\endgroup$ Jul 15, 2022 at 16:51
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1$\begingroup$ Ah yes, I forgot for a moment that, unlike most of Earth, the sky is quite constant :) $\endgroup$– gerritJul 15, 2022 at 19:04
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1$\begingroup$ @gerrit There's lots of variable stuff in the sky, too. But some things are nearly constant. $\endgroup$ Jul 15, 2022 at 20:43
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2$\begingroup$ @fectin What does the report mean, and why do you think that? $\endgroup$ Jul 16, 2022 at 10:46