James Webb Space Telescope sunshade deployment begins in critical milestone for $10 billion mission
CBSN
Now well beyond the moon, the James Webb Space Telescope has begun a nail-biting series of steps to safely unfurl the observatory's fragile sunshield.
The five-layer sunshade, the size of a tennis court, is required to block out the sun and cool Webb's optics and instruments to within 50 degrees of absolute zero, or minus-370 Fahrenheit. Only then will the telescope be able to register the faint infrared light from the first generation of stars and galaxies.
Sunshade deployment is considered one of the riskiest aspects of the $10 billion mission, one that simply has to work as planned or Webb's science will be degraded. Extraordinary tests were carried out on the ground to make sure the deployment would work as planned, but there are no guarantees.
If you still haven't gotten your COVID or flu shot, don't fret – experts say it's the perfect time to get vaccinated before the holidays are in full swing.
Scientists say they've discovered the world's biggest coral, so huge it was mistaken for a shipwreck
Scientists say they have found the world's largest coral near the Pacific's Solomon Islands, announcing Thursday a major discovery "pulsing with life and color." The coral is so immense that researchers sailing the crystal waters of the Solomon archipelago initially thought they'd stumbled across a hulking shipwreck.
A grad student in Michigan received a threatening response during a chat with Google's AI chatbot Gemini.
As the weather cools down, dating heats up as people secure a cuddle buddy for "cuffing season," but for some, taking a slower approach may be the best strategy.
Nearly 4 in 10 seniors have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine so far this year, new survey data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests, marking a steep increase in vaccination rates compared with the same time last year.
Why do we weep? There are actually some good reasons for it — and an explanation for why a little blubbering can make us feel better.
Online retailers and birth control providers have seen a spike in sales for emergency contraceptives since Donald Trump was elected for a second term as president of the United States.
Beirut — Declassified 1970s-era U.S. spy satellite imagery has led a British-Iraqi archeological team to what they believe is the site of a seventh-century battle that became decisive in the spread of Islam throughout the region.
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in stress-related drinking and alcohol-related deaths, and new research suggests drinking didn't stop as things returned to normal.
More than 5 million people received filler injections last year, most often on their face or in their hands, an 8% increase from the previous year.
By the time the polls opened on Election Day, baseless claims of voter fraud had been building on social media for months, fueling doubts about the integrity of the election.