The James Webb Space Telescope is about 1 million miles from Earth. It will end up in a chaotic trip around the solar system that will involve a series of loop-the-loops.
The second lagrange point, known as L2, is a rarefied spot in our solar system. NASA explains that the telescope is able to keep the Earth and the Sun apart.
The observatory will get to that point by the end of this month if everything goes according to plan.
The loop is called lagrange.
There are many reasons why NASA chose L2 to park its telescope. The point allows it to not get scorched by the Sun's harmful rays, because it can keep its massive sun shield pointed at our star at all times.
The European Space Agency launched its Planck space observatory in 2009, while NASA launched its Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy probe in 2001.
The telescope has a warm side with a temperature of 185 degrees and a cold side with a temperature of 388 degrees.
Keeping in touch with the telescope will be easy since the JSWT will be facing the same spot on Earth all the time. It will be able to up and downlink twice a day.
The observatory will spend at least the next ten years in the middle of the ground. It should have no problem getting the rest of the way there, since everything so far is going according to plan.
This might be the last time we see the James Webb Space Telescope.
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