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How Microshutters Are Used as a Mask

Diagram that explains the microshutters within the Webb Space Telescope’s NIRSpec instrument, which help Webb target many objects at the same time while blocking out light from other objects.
The microshutters enable Webb to observe multiple targets at once by allowing the light of targeted objects to pass through, and blocking the light from objects astronomers don't wish to study.
  • Release Date
    May 31, 2018
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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