Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Light Path Animation

  • Released Monday, February 28, 2022
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The spectrograph light path inside the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the Webb Telescope. Versions with labels and without labels.

Credit: European Space Agency

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has both a camera and a spectrograph that sees light in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths that are longer than our eyes see.

MIRI covers the wavelength range of 5 to 28 microns. Its sensitive detectors will allow it to see the redshifted light of distant galaxies, newly forming stars, and faintly visible comets as well as objects in the Kuiper Belt. MIRI's camera will provide wide-field, broadband imaging that will continue the breathtaking astrophotography that has made Hubble so universally admired. The spectrograph will enable medium-resolution spectroscopy, providing new physical details of the distant objects it will observe.

The imaging light path inside the Mid Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the Webb Telescope. Versions with labels and without labels.

Credit: European Space Agency

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European Space Agency

This page was originally published on Monday, February 28, 2022.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 11:44 AM EDT.