$diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts$

$diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts$

#Diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts series#

Why does the spike slice the planet instead of the planet breaking the tip off the spike? Are the spikes like enormous light sabers? Barmar ( talk) 00:43, 13 April 2023 (UTC) So if a blade would actually go through the planet there would only be local destruction and a change of momentum. The finger holes would instantly collapse. Randell actually explained this in his 'What if a bowling ball would have the size of the earth?'. Pretty sure gravity causes the pieces to drift back together. All power to your typing fingers! 172.70.85.66 00:15, 13 April 2023 (UTC)Įxoplanets nevertheless exist because, alongside the visible diffraction spikes that chop them up, there are invisible defraction spikes that reassemble them. As long as you learn from it, and we learn what useful things you want to say, nothing at all to worry about. I tried to make an initial explanation, but then someone beat me to it and I made a fool of myself on the page trying to add a comment where it didn't go. Īdd a comment! ⋅ add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ refresh comments! Discussion Transcript Bad news for exoplanets: it turns out those diffraction spikes are real. The title text also claims that the spikes produce sufficient light and heat to disrupt seasonal (and perhaps even diurnal) patterns on planets that come close enough to them, but this is not something we experience on Earth. This would make our own solar system exceptionally fortunate, given the number of planetary bodies that remain whole, though it could perhaps serve as an explanation for the Asteroid belt, being remnants of formerly destroyed planets. The title text suggests that a planet would have to be particularly lucky to avoid encountering one of these spikes during its lifetime.

$diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts$

Additionally, they appear to nullify gravity - preventing the halves from recombining and allowing them to maintain their shape. The spikes have sufficient energy and coherence to slice planets that intersect them, rather than merely bludgeon or vaporize them. The comic feigns that these artifacts are real spikes of stellar matter extending from the stars being viewed. They've become especially well known lately because they're quite prominent in images from the James Webb Space Telescope its bigger spikes are due to the edges of the hexagonal mirror sections, not the struts. In telescopes, they are often caused by the support struts of the secondary mirror in the telescope. The brighter the star, the brighter the spike.Title text: Even if a planet is lucky enough to have a stable orbit that weaves between the spikes, the seasons get weird whenever it passes close to them.ĭiffraction spikes are visual artifacts that appear to extend from light sources, mostly when viewed through a reflector telescope. Not all images will include such pointy stars because the star spikes are the most noticeable when the star is incredibly bright. That’s why the famous images coming from the Hubble show four spikes instead of six. The JWST’s three struts result in six spikes because each strut produces two spikes that appear as right angles.īy contrast, the Hubble Space Telescope has four struts that hold up the secondary mirror and each strut results in a spike also held at a right angle from it. As light from the star comes into the telescope, it has to bend around the struts which block the light. Unlike the first hexagonal mirror, the secondary mirror is circular which also impacts the way that light reflects off of it. It’s also the second surface that light from the stars hits to create an image.

$diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts$

The secondary mirror is necessary in order to direct light into the telescope. The breaks in between the mirrors create rough lines of light that appear within the spikes if you look very closely at the image.Īdditionally, the JWST has three struts each placed 24 feet from the primary mirror that hold up the telescope’s secondary mirror.

#Diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts series#

Plus, Webb's hexagonal mirror is actually made up of a series of smaller mirrors - which have breaks between them and are also capable of reflecting light. Each of the 18 pieces which make up the huge mirror help to shape the way the light is reflected.

$diffraction spikes caused by diagonal mirror mounts$