[2026] PTE Academic Reading - Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a collaboration between NASA, ESA, and CSA, represents the most significant advancement in space observation since the Hubble.Unlike the Hubble, which primarily observes visible and ultraviolet light, the JWST is optimized to detect infrared radiation.This capability allows it to peer through dense clouds of cosmic dust and gas that obscure the view of traditional optical telescopes.By capturing these long wavelengths, the JWST can observe the very first stars and galaxies that formed over 13.5 billion years ago, shortly after the Big Bang.Furthermore, the telescope's high-resolution instruments are designed to analyze the atmospheres of exoplanets in unprecedented detail.Scientists use a technique called transmission spectroscopy to look for 'biosignatures'—specific chemical markers like water, methane, and carbon dioxide that might indicate the presence of life.Operating at a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, at the second Lagrange point (L2), the telescope must maintain an extremely low temperature to function.To protect its sensitive instruments from the heat of the Sun and Earth, it utilizes a massive, five-layer sunshield the size of a tennis court.The deployment of this sunshield was one of the most complex mechanical operations ever attempted in space.The data gathered by the JWST is expected to revolutionize our understanding of cosmic history and the potential for life elsewhere in the universe.