NASA’s second eye: the James Webb Space Telescope is due for launch in 2018 Northrop Grumman

Coming in 2019: The Solar System in 3D. A pair of telescopes could soon bring sights like comets, Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot to life in full, three-dimensional images and movies for the first time.

When the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) begins science operations in 2019, it will join the veteran Hubble Space Telescope, which has been orbiting for 26 years already and is scheduled to retire in 2021.

While they are in space together, the two can act as a giant pair of eyes, seeing space in a new light: with depth perception.


“This was never possible before because we never had two telescopes with this kind of resolution in space at the same time,” says Joel Green at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

The effect will be possible because Hubble is in near-Earth orbit and the JWST will reside 1.5 million kilometres away, in a spot opposite Earth and the sun called the L2 point. Such a wide separation means that pointing them at the same object in the solar system will provide sufficient difference in viewing angle to create a sense of depth perceptible to the human eye.

Spectacular sights

Green analysed the telescopes’ joint capabilities to show how they might see many amazing sights in 3D: Jupiter’s rolling clouds with the planet’s moons in the foreground and background, a mountain peak and atmospheric dust drifting over Mars, or a nearby comet with its tail pointing away as it approaches the sun.

But the most exciting prospect might be observing rapidly changing phenomena, such as storms on Jupiter, impacts on rocky worlds or emissions from a comet. “We can really probe the details of this with such techniques,” says Stefanie Milam, the deputy project scientist for planetary science for the JWST.

Three-dimensional images and movies will also help engage and educate the public. “This technique would be great for helping non-experts grasp the size of astronomical objects,” says Adam Kraus at the University of Texas in Austin.

It will also just be cool. “I’m really excited to see Saturn’s rings pop out of the page at me,” Green says.

Journal reference: arXiv, DOI: 1610.07483v1