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Millenniauld t1_j2091rh wrote

The thing with the JWST design, and big mirrors in general, is that they are built with the possibility of damage like that in mind. In 1970 a man unloaded 7 9mm shots point blank into the 2.7 meter MacDonald Observatory telescope mirror. The 7 holes barely reduced its efficiency by 1%.

By comparison, the JWST is 6.5 meters and the meteorite that hit is reported to be about the size of a grain of dust, so the damage has even less of an impact. More importantly than that, the JWST was designed to compensate for something like this, and it is still performing well above initial hopes.

Basically, while it was noticeable and is a good reminder that we can't get up there to do repairs, at least at this point there has been no damage that reduces its efficiency.

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_whydah_ t1_j20aw4a wrote

Why did that guy shoot the telescope?

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Millenniauld t1_j20bnno wrote

No one is really sure. Apparently he was a new hire, shot one bullet at his boss and the rest at the telescope.

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Unique_Frame_3518 OP t1_j20uo5n wrote

Telescope makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I'm going to unload this clip into it, with my 9

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darrellbear t1_j208154 wrote

Meteoroid, not meteorite--it's only a meteorite if it reaches the ground. It's only a meteor if it's burning up in the atmosphere. If it's out in space it's a meteoroid.

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space-ModTeam t1_j20c8h0 wrote

Hello u/Unique_Frame_3518, your submission "JWST damage update" has been removed from r/space because:

  • Such questions should be asked in the "All space questions" thread stickied at the top of the sub.

Please read the rules in the sidebar and check r/space for duplicate submissions before posting. If you have any questions about this removal please message the r/space moderators. Thank you.

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