Lesson of the Day: ‘What We Know About Unfolding the James Webb Space Telescope’

3. How does Webb compare with the Hubble Space Telescope? How was it designed to probe a crucial stretch of early cosmic history, known to astronomers as the dark ages? What role will infrared light play?

4. What is your reaction to the article? What did you find most fascinating, surprising or significant? Do you think the Webb telescope is worth 25 years of development and the cost of $10 billion? Does learning about its launch and mission make you more interested in space?

5. Make a prediction (or two): What do you think the Webb telescope will find? Do you think it will find evidence of life on other planets? The origin of black holes? The secrets to the birth of the Milky Way and the cosmos? Be bold — make some $10 billion predictions!

Going Further

Option 1: What questions do you have about the universe?

How are stars formed? How do they die? Do galaxies ever collide? Is the universe finite or infinite, and what would either mean? What is dark matter? Is it as sinister as it sounds? Are there multiple universes, like ones we’ve seen in “Spider-Man: Far From Home”? What questions do you still have about the universe? What else do you want to know?

You might begin by looking at The Times’s Space and Astronomy topic page or one of the stories below about the Milky Way and beyond: Then, write or discuss with a partner: What is your reaction to the article? How did it add to or change your understanding of the beauty and mystery of the universe? What was the most fascinating, provocative or memorable thing you learned? What questions do you still have about our cosmos?

If you have more time …

Want an additional challenge? Use your question and research as the basis for an entry to our Third Annual STEM Writing Contest, in which we challenge students to choose an issue or question in science, technology, engineering, math or health and write an engaging 500-word explanation of it. The contest runs from Feb. 2 to March 9.

Option 2: Why does the James Webb Space Telescope matter to the world — and you?

In “The James Webb Space Telescope and a Quest Every Human Shares,” Mr. Overbye writes about the observatory’s mission and its significance:

There was no military or economic advantage in devoting 25 years and $10 billion of national treasure to build a telescope, of all things, devoted not to looking down at our enemies, but out across time and space, trying to decipher the nature and condition of our origins. We all share the quest even if we all don’t get the time and chance to obsess about it.

And later:

We stagger upward under the weight of our knowledge of our own mortality. In the face of the ultimate abyss that is destiny, we can find honor and dignity in the fact that we played the cosmic game to win, trying to know and feel as much as we can in the brief centuries allotted to us.

Read the entire essay. Then, respond to the following questions in writing or through discussion with a partner: Do you agree with Mr. Overbye that “We all share the quest”? How important to you is it to search for answers about the nature and conditions of our origins? Does it matter if there is no military or economic advantage to be gained through the Webb telescope’s mission? In your opinion, what will humanity gain if we are able to answer many of our long-awaited questions about the universe?