<p>Can JWST be damaged by looking at a bright star?</p>
<p>The Sun as well as particularily bright solar-system objects like Jupiter, Venus or the Moon not meant with this question.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-26T20:32:17.150Z
Do you want to exclude the Sun? I assume yes. Does "a bright star" mean just the stars as we see them currently, or any kind of star at any distance? I assume it's the former. Do you want include or exclude Jupiter? I assume excldue.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-26T22:02:36.670Z
@uhoh yes to all
sno
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-26T23:56:49.177Z
https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/48131/which-jwst-instrument-modes-are-compatible-with-observations-of-the-bright-trans
BowlOfRed
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-27T12:10:45.110Z
You can definitely damage the detector _temporarily_, so that you see a "ghost image" of the star on the subsequent exposures. I did that myself with an Earth-based 1.5 m telescope, and JWST's area is ~20 larger and has a ~10 times higher resolution (i.e. the star is "concentrated" on ~1 pixel). I've been discussing with some (5) colleagues whether or not you can damage MIRI _permanently_, but at the moment I don't have a satisfactory answer.
pela
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-27T14:07:20.670Z
I've now talked to a colleague who is well-versed in detectors and electronics. He can't say for sure but says that, while you can indeed render part of the detector useless for a while, his gut feeling is that you shouldn't worry about damaging the detector permanently.
pela
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-28T13:37:07.490Z
I also asked Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at ESA, Mark McCaughrean, who said "Saturation, ghosting, & persistence are all likely with stars above a certain limit, but I don't believe there's any chance of the detectors being damaged".
pela
<telescope><apparent-magnitude><james-webb-space-telescope>
Can JWST be damaged by looking at a bright star?
sno
# Can JWST be damaged by looking at a bright star?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-26)

Can JWST be damaged by looking at a bright star?

The Sun as well as particularily bright solar-system objects like Jupiter, Venus or the Moon not meant with this question.

**Tags:** telescope, apparent-magnitude, james-webb-space-telescope
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Do you want to exclude the Sun? I assume yes. Does "a bright star" mean just the stars as we see them currently, or any kind of star at any distance? I assume it's the former. Do you want include or exclude Jupiter? I assume excldue.  
> **username_0**: @uhoh yes to all  
> **username_2**: https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/48131/which-jwst-instrument-modes-are-compatible-with-observations-of-the-bright-trans  
> **username_3**: You can definitely damage the detector _temporarily_, so that you see a "ghost image" of the star on the subsequent exposures. I did that myself with an Earth-based 1.5 m telescope, and JWST's area is ~20 larger and has a ~10 times higher resolution (i.e. the star is "concentrated" on ~1 pixel). I've been discussing with some (5) colleagues whether or not you can damage MIRI _permanently_, but at the moment I don't have a satisfactory answer.  
> **username_3**: I've now talked to a colleague who is well-versed in detectors and electronics. He can't say for sure but says that, while you can indeed render part of the detector useless for a while, his gut feeling is that you shouldn't worry about damaging the detector permanently.  
> **username_3**: I also asked Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at ESA, Mark McCaughrean, who said "Saturation, ghosting, & persistence are all likely with stars above a certain limit, but I don't believe there's any chance of the detectors being damaged".  

---

## 0 answers

