Outstanding video about all three Hubble Deep Field images

[Winston]

This is a really excellent explanation:

[video=youtube;W4GKf623Exk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4GKf623Exk[/video]

And the next space telescope he mentions at the end:

Time-lapse: James Webb Space Telescope Mirror Rollover

[video=youtube;PhGfgREoBj4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhGfgREoBj4[/video]

As an aside, the very first question asked about that James Webb telescope video was exactly the same one I wanted to ask:

PoznańskaPyra
0:38 Why back of telescope is blurry?

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
+PoznańskaPyra There is proprietary hardware and we have to respect our industry partners.

barroweer
+James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) What kind of hardware we can see? if there are only a few pixels?

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
+barroweer It's the actuators on the mirrors.

Also blurred in this more recent video:

Time-lapse: NASA's Webb Strikes a Pose

[video=youtube;QZYs7x7GWH8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZYs7x7GWH8[/video]

I was suspicious of that explanation and investigated. You can find all kinds of still images, videos, and even articles and PDF papers about the now blurred out mirror actuators. Just one example:

https://webbtelescope.org/webb_telescope/behind_the_webb/episodes/7

I suspect the requirement to blur the actuators is due to a blanket rule related to them now being classified due to some association or possible future association with a classified program requiring that they no longer can be clearly shown. Removing previous materials found on-line would be too obvious and suspicious.

What could that program be? Well the NRO would love some of these for understandable reasons and the James Webb telescope folded mirror configuration is known and fully developed whereas this method isn't:

DARPA'S 'MEMBRANE OPTICS' SPY SATELLITE COULD CAPTURE CLOSE-UP VIDEO OF EARTH FROM ORBIT

https://www.popsci.com/technology/a...atellite-could-capture-video-earth-22000-feet

This is just a hunch since it's the only way I can think of to explain the sudden secrecy vs past openness. If I'm right, it would be an example of a foolish application of a blanket classification rule as I'm sure our adversaries could figure this out, too. Note the former Eastern Bloc nationality of the original questioner on YouTube.

OR I could be completely wrong... which would be much less interesting. :cyclops:

 

[Mushtang]

WAY cool videos!! Thanks for sharing.

I read the DARPA article too...

What could that program be? Well the NRO would love some of these for understandable reasons and the James Webb telescope folded mirror configuration is known and fully developed whereas this method isn't:

DARPA'S 'MEMBRANE OPTICS' SPY SATELLITE COULD CAPTURE CLOSE-UP VIDEO OF EARTH FROM ORBIT

https://www.popsci.com/technology/a...atellite-could-capture-video-earth-22000-feet

They lost me when the article said, "Geosynchronous orbit--wherein satellites move at the same rate as the Earth's location and thus remain stationary in the sky relative to the Earth--is much higher up at about 22,000 miles. Capturing live video across 22,000 miles of Earth atmosphere isn't easy"

Not easy mostly because the atmosphere is only 300 miles thick, with most of it being in the bottom 10 miles. I realize it was just a mistake and that's not what they meant to say, but shouldn't articles like this be reviewed by a few people before being published? Heh.