HD 84406 is a spectral type G star- First target of James Webb Telescope

HD 84406 is a spectral type G star that has a radial velocity of 6.97 km/sec situated at the constellation of Ursa Major approx. 260 light-years from us. HD 84406 has a mass of approximately 1.4 Solar masses. One Solar Mass is equal to 2 × 10³⁰ kg. It has a radius of 5.1 Solar radii. One Solar radius is equal to 6.975×10⁸ meters,

And the best part: HD 84406 star has a magnitude of 6.9, So though we can’t see it with our naked eye, it can be visible in a pair of regular binoculars. NIRCam of James Webb Telescope will focus on the star HD84406. [ Data collected from Wikipedia ]

Why HD 84406 star is selected as the first target of the James Webb Telescope?

First, the Webb telescope is mainly observed the infrared radiation coming from early galaxies and young stars in The Milky Way. But currently, Webb is focusing on HD 84406 star for calibrating and optimizing its cameras and other instruments. Almost 90 days are required to complete the optimization process.

Secondly, The HD84406 star is located in an isolated region of the NW part of Ursa Major. If we select another start that is too crowded then the James Webb telescope’s optimization cannot be done properly.

The most important thing, As it is in an isolated region and situated at a very large distance we can observe it for a long period at a particular position. So that we can optimize our telescope properly. Thank You For Reading.

Related Topic: Webb telescope will first capture the image of a star named HD 84406

What is the L2 point? James Webb telescope is now about 1.5 million km away from us