The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has become something of a celebrity here on Earth, and rightfully so. After decades of development, the $10 billion deep space observatory promises to peel back the mysteries of the universe in a way that simply hasn’t been possible until now. Plus, let’s be honest, the thing just looks ridiculously cool.
So is it really such a surprise that folks would want a piece of this marvel hanging up in their wall? No, it’s not the real thing, but this rendition of the JWST’s primary mirror created by [James Kiefer] and [Ryan Kramer] certainly gets the point across.
A CNC router was used to cut the outside shape from a piece of 1/2 inch MDF, as well as put 1 mm deep pockets in the face to accept the hexagonal golden acrylic mirrors. We originally thought the mirrors were also custom made, but somewhat surprisingly, gold-tinted hex mirrors are apparently popular enough in the home decor scene that they’re readily available online for cheap. A quick check with everyone’s favorite a large online bookseller turned global superpower shows them selling for as little as $0.50 a piece.
With a coat of black paint on the MDF, the finished piece really does look the part. We imagine it’s fairly heavy though, and wonder how it would have worked out if the back panel was cut from a piece of thick foam board instead.
Of course this isn’t a terribly difficult design to recreate if you had to, but we still appreciate that the duo has decided to release both the Fusion 360 project file and the exported STL to the public. It seems only right that this symbol for science and discovery should be made available to as many people as possible.
After a dramatic launch on Christmas Day and a perilous flight through deep space, the JWST has performed impeccably. Even though we’re still a several months away from finally seeing what this high-tech telescope is capable of, it’s already managed to ignite the imaginations of people all over the globe.
This is really beautifully done.
Judging by the accidental Ronchi ruling test in the picture, he’s got some mirror figuring to do :-)
Getting nm precision out of cheap plastic mirrors mounted on thin MDF under any circumstances would be quite a feat indeed.
That is really beautiful, I would buy one, but I’m afraid that when I look in it in the morning it would hear what NASA will say when examining the data from the real James Webb, “Ugh, no sign of life.”
☺️….🤣
😂🤣😭
Can I…. Buy this???
I could recreate it for you – but probably a little heavy to ship :)
I want to know what the rock in the showcase is all about
If that’s really a rock, I worry about that glass shelf holding it up.
I think we need to know
Looks like a meterorite.
That much meteorite would be worth a small fortune.
Now it just needs aligning
$10 billion !!!!!! Just to peer out in space ? Who approves stupidity like this. That money would be FAR better spend here on earth with renewable energy and other things to maintain life here.
Where do you think they spent the money, if not Earth? Think some Martian’s rolled by with an armored truck?
Best… Reply… Ever!
I said the same to my friends complaining about Curiosity price tag… Money was spent here, advancing communication technology, creating better optics, better thermal management systems.
Satellite today, webcam tomorrow…
Your comment suggests that you only now just heard about the JWST which is something in itself given the fact that the news about this most advanced telescope ever deployed in space has increasingly frequent and pervasive up to and through its launch
If you knew the whole story about this new telescope in the skies you might accept that you were naivete with with the alarm you displayed at reading the cost of this telescope. By the way did you ever exhibit the same kind of alarm at hearing the cost of the latest weapon built for the US military?
Do yourself a favor and go educate yourself about this telescope and you are more then likely going to forget about the cost and realize what a fabulous piece of technology JWST is.
Having spent ten years working within the Department of Defense, I’ve always been surprised that people rant about the cost of space exploration hardware. Consider that The F-35 has a projected lifetime cost of $1.7 trillion for delivering just 2,500 aircraft to the branches.
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-439
For planes that will never see combat
It’s thanks to scientific endeavors throughout history like the james Webb that we have to thank for most of the blessings of modern life. If nobody ever took risks or dared to dream big we would still be living in caves getting eaten by big cats. Progress is not cheap. Also that 10 billion dollars didn’t just vanish into thin air, it payed people’s bills and fueled the economy. I think your weak and ignorant take is based in a lack of perspective. Maybe try reading some history books as a start.
Not to mention that space based science has led to a lot of critical insights in the area of climate change – spending money on only renewables would have led to us not really understanding climate change in the first place and not doing many of the things required to control/contain it. OP seems to be under the impression that all money everywhere must be spent on the single most obvious current problem, with none spared to explore even other important problems.
Sad lack of knowledge about the contributions of general science and space programs to things you take for granted in your daily life.
Also 10 billion isn’t really that much in this context, the US pumps TRILLIONS into military e.g.. Science including space programs get way too few peanuts of total budgets as is. Despite you know, being where answers and solutions tend to come from.
Science has it’s place, but it’s not the panacea you pretend it is. For every “answer and solution” you can name, I can list a problem science has caused, such as climate change.
And what would your solution be? To quit trying to learn and grow? Tools can be used for good or ill or have unintended consequences.
I guarantee that the first spears used to hunt were used to murder as well.
Yes, we need to learn, grow and have avid tools!!
However, we are far behind the rest of the world in education!! We could have used this money to set up every school in the US. Such as, paying highly educated teachers a good salary, buying up to date school books, and computers for each child. They are our future and need to learn the importance of the Arts & Sciences in real time!
Any money left over?
If yes, spend that, to star gaze with better clarity.
And how was Climate Change caused? cars, factories, and other co2 emissions from humans. If we didn’t have those emissions, and they were never caused “because of science,” that would also mean there wouldn’t be any technological advancements. So you’re saying you would rather never have had the computer you’re typing on right now and the car you drive every day to work, because it causes problems? Yeah, Climate Change is a big problem, but when have humans ever given up on big problems? The other option is no technology. go back to living in caves. what kind of thinking is that?
The market size for movie and video production in 2022 is $18.2 billion. Nearly twice as much, and in only one year, just to watch other people doing pretend play. Did you watch any movies or dramas in the last 12 months? Being alive is fun, sometimes we like to do fun things.
Ban movies if you want more windmills. You’d get way more of them that way.
Or, perhaps divert some of the estimated USD 1,981 Billion of annual world military spending into improving life here.
Science is important. Also, modern nuclear reactors that don’t use pressurized water are better for the environment than windmills and solar panels.
“nuclear reactors that don’t use pressurized water ”
That’s a pretty neat trick. So how to they generate power without using steam turbines?
Molten salt fuel, which is not pressurized, keeps the reactive material at a stable 600°C. The heat of molten salt fuel is exchanged with molten salt that in turn lets steam turbines run. Fuel is not under pressure and already liquid so no meltdown. Passive cooling and negative power feedback makes the molten salt reactor self-stabilizing. Too hot and reaction slow down, too cool and reaction speeds up. The liquid core can be drained into storage tanks. The design is massively more efficient and much safer than traditional reactors. Many more backups in the design too. Where traditional reactors use only a few percent of the fuel rods, the liquid salt fuel is capable to use near total use of the fissionable material and can even be used to burn existing nuclear waste (when prepared as fuel).
Who’s to know if it actually was spent on this telescope or if the scope exists at all and the money given to all the corrupt politicians and their cronies as a bribe to keep the cabals wheels greased…
Wake up Sheeple! The Cabal!
i see…. if ya wanna spoil the moment here…..so youre saying its better to spend a trillion per year on bombs n guns? much better imho to spend 1 pct of that amt to remind all earthlings of the joy of discovery, our common need to care for the planet and to coexist peacefully on this too small mote in the vastness of the cosmos.
This was obviously a troll comment. I’m starting to think these kinds of posts are being made by some bot somewhere looking for certain keywords then posting asinine comments in response.
There is more to the james Webb telescope you need to research more. This telescope will transcend us back to our past which is our future , it replaces the 2 dimensional way we look at things and open up our eyes to a reality of who we truly are.
You’re absolutely right, Mike! If we never approved ‘stupid’ projects likes this, I wouldn’t have had to read that narrow minded comment. Because the tech you used to make it wouldn’t exist. /s
Investment in science, tech, and understanding of the world/universe around us is NEVER a waste.
You’ve no idea what you’re talking about, you sad little person.
$10 billion….a big waste if things would Have gone awry
But they didnt thanks to the thousands of best minds who have put years of their lives in that project.
$10 billion….cheap cost overall in view of the successful deployment and what it might reveal of our universe!
Make your own JWST wall mirror using gold-tone stick-on hexagonal mirror tiles. You need 18 tiles, they come in various sizes. Stick the tiles down on a matte-black piece of poster board. Some examples:
* Removable Acrylic Mirror Setting Wall Sticker Decal for Home Living Room Bedroom Deco (24Pieces) Brand: xiclass 3.9 out of 5 stars 91 ratings $10.99
https://www.amazon.com/Removable-Acrylic-Setting-Sticker-24Pieces/dp/B08MFB62LH
* Wall Stickers, LYGZTing 24 PCS Gold Wall Decor Removable Mirror Stickers DIY Acrylic Mirror Stickers for Walls Hexagon Mirror Wall Stickers Non Glass Mirror for Apartment Decor Aesthetic Room Decor Brand: LYGZTing 3.8 out of 5 stars 666 ratings $13.99 ($0.58 / Count)
https://www.amazon.com/Stickers-LYGZTing-Removable-Acrylic-Hexagon/dp/B09722MG6S
* For inspiration, many images of the JWST mirror:
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=JWST+Mirror&iax=images&ia=images
Have Fun!
Can you put me in touch with the makers? I want to buy one.
I have actual pieces of the JWST as I was one of the technicians that made the many composite tubes and gussets that compose the structure, but a mirror like that would be a nice addition!
Good job. Where can I buy one?
How about a bit of Skylab on your wall? Om the 42nd page of this PDF you’ll find the dimensions for the isogrid panels used in the Skylab space station. https://femci.gsfc.nasa.gov/isogrid/NASA-CR-124075_Isogrid_Design.pdf
Isogrid is _sexy_ and very easy to 3D print.
But what about the focal distance? The OP hack here has them all flat? You could angle them in slightly for added effect.
Might be cool, might start fires in your livingroom. :)
Read the whole document. Spoiler alert – the butler did it.
Where’s the angle control?
Perhaps PrusaLab’s Fluidum could be used.
You can find that mechanism here – https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5232214
Four years ago I started this new chapter of my life, having spent the prior 25 years of it never appreciating the very thing that I absolutely cherish today – “Life”! I knew nothing of what space was really about, just the basics we learn in school as a kid. Then one day I stumbled upon a YouTube video by Professor Kipling, and ever since then, I’ve been hooked. My friends and family now joke that I’m a space nerd! From learning the size of our biggest stars, to the twin paradox, I have been fascinated every step of the way. So if the JWST will bring the wonders of our universe to another person who is curious and wonders what life is all about, then I think it’s worth every penny! Btw, online casinos made 1.8 billion dollars in Pennsylvania alone last year, why don’t you ask them if it’s worth it!
“Life! Don’t talk to !e about life.” – Marvin, the paranoid android
Best reply of the thread. RIP Doug.
Now make the matching heatshield used as the blinds!
IKEA HÖNEFOSS is hexagonal tinted glass mirrors. I believe the package contains two different shades of gold (my son had them done time ago). So you might need a few packs..
I’ve just seen a giant bee
Add large clockworks for another $14 and you have a time machine! Looks great with a few LEDs on back for backlighting.
OMG that is BEAUTIFUL!!! Thank you for closing the gap between art and science! If it’s not too hard or expensive, I may very well make my own copy of this masterpiece. I think there’s a maker space down the street with a CNC that I can use…