What to Tell Young Children About the Webb Telescope
The shocking emptiness of our universe
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The James Webb Space Telescope(JWST) is the most powerful space telescope ever built in human history and its first images were released in July 2022.
Stunning pictures of faraway galaxies taken by the JWST have captured people’s attention from all over the world, revealing details not known to astronomers before. It is of no question that these new findings will reshape the human understanding of the universe.
As a mom with a Ph.D. in Physics, I am eager to share with my 11-year-old daughter the excitement brought by the JWST, but how? The numerical value of the speed of light (order of 300 thousand kilometers per second) is already hard enough for an 11-year-old to grasp, not to mention the concept of space and time.
Still, some essential aspects of our universe can be easily visualized by young minds. Here is a talking point I suggest to parents who want to inspire their kids with a short talk over the JWST — the emptiness of the universe.
The emptiness of the universe should shock every child. It explains why the JWST is such a valuable tool to astronomers.
