James Webb Space Telescope Location: Where is the James Webb telescope now?

The James Webb Space Telescope orbits the Sun at the second Lagrange point, or L2, 1.5 million kilometres (1 million miles) from Earth.

This orbit is unique in that it enables the telescope to continue to point toward the Earth as it revolves around the Sun.

This enables the telescope to be shielded from the Sun’s and Earth’s light and heat by the large sun shield on the satellite and Moon.

JWST was launched in December 2021 from Kourou, French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket, and it reached the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point in January 2022.

Lagrange points, according to NASA, are locations in space where objects sent there have a propensity to remain put.

At Lagrange points, the centripetal force necessary for a small object to move with two large masses precisely equals their gravitational pull. By using these locations in space, spacecraft can use less fuel to maintain their position.

L2 is perfect for astronomy because a spacecraft can easily communicate with Earth, keep the Sun, Earth, and Moon behind it for solar power, and provide our telescopes with a clear view of deep space.