I understand it observes a different frequency range than Hubble, but it can still "observe anything in the sky, and get the most detailed pictures ever seen of them".
> but it can still "observe anything in the sky, and get the most detailed pictures ever seen of them".
That's my point: it cannot!
Not all objects are visible at all wavelengths. Some extremely old and far-away objects are not emitting anything in the shortest wavelengths because of red-shifting, and you need infrared capabilities to see them (hence JWST).
Dust clouds are also blocking certain frequencies of light from reaching us, so you need instrument detecting certain frequencies to see through them. But if you want to study dust clouds, well you obviously need a different instrument that will not see through them.
If you care about observing very energetic objects like neutron star, you need x-ray capabilities.
If you care about studying atmosphere of exoplanet your best bet is UV light, and this is why NASA is working on LUVOIR.
It's like saying you can observe anything with an iPhone camera. You can't, if you care about imaging a brain tumor or a broken bone, you need x-ray, your iPhone just won't see through the skin. And if you care about taking a picture of the skin, you can't do that in x-ray.
> > but it can still "observe anything in the sky, and get the most detailed pictures ever seen of them".
> That's my point: it cannot!
>
> Not all objects are visible at all wavelengths.
A JWST observation showing nothing is new science. Now we know that object emits no light at those wavelengths even when observed by the most sensitive instrument!
But of course those are exceptions. Most things we point JWST to will be seen in greater detail than ever before, and also in frequencies not seen before.
> If you care about observing very energetic objects like neutron star, you need x-ray capabilities.
>
> If you care about studying atmosphere of exoplanet your best bet is UV light, and this is why NASA is working on LUVOIR.
This feels like deliberate misunderstandings (conscious or not) of my points. I don't think we can get any further in this discussion.
Are you seriously suggesting there is no other value in infrared light images? That there's only one thing worth looking at in infrared? That nothing else one points it at could possibly yield a surprise?
I'm astonished. I don't think we remotely know enough about the universe to draw such conclusions.
> Are you seriously suggesting there is no other value in infrared light images
I have never suggested that no. What I am suggesting, is that if you asked the astronomy community wether they want to spend 3-5B$ into getting an exact copy of the JWST, or spend those 3-5B$ into a different telescope, with capabilities complimentary with the JWST, you would get an absolute overwhelming majority voting for the latter.
We are still going to invest in future IR telescopes, but they won't be exact copy of JWST, they will either be complementary (see the future Roman space telescope) or will just be based on newer technologies and be more powerful.
There is simply little value in getting twice the same instrument for that price tag.
Why didn't we build another Hubble? The US build 18 of those for reconnaissance purpose but a single one for astronomy.
Because the astronomy community never chose to spend their budget on that, instead they chose 4 new telescopes, with 4 different capabilities, all different from Hubble. That's where JWST comes from. They could have asked for 4 JWSTs instead, but they didn't because that would be terribly pointless.
I understand it observes a different frequency range than Hubble, but it can still "observe anything in the sky, and get the most detailed pictures ever seen of them".