Christmas eve telescope launch has astronomers hoping for good tidings of great joy

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/20/ [login to see] /christmas-eve-telescope-launch-has-astronomers-hoping-for-good-tidings-of-great-
A churning mix of excitement and anxious dread has taken hold of astronomers around the world, as they wait for the launch of the most powerful telescope ever, planned for the morning of Christmas Eve.

The James Webb Space Telescope has been in the works for decades, and its gold-plated, 21-foot mirror will see much farther out into space than the venerable Hubble Space Telescope. Its launch has been delayed so many times over the years that, for many, it seems almost unbelievable that it's finally about to happen.

One wag on Twitter even joked that anyone nervous about the James Webb Space Telescope colliding with Santa during lift-off should relax, because "James Webb launching is just a story we tell children, it's not real."

As surreal as it may seem, the 7-ton, once-in-a-generation scientific instrument named after a former NASA administrator is in fact now at a launch site in French Guiana, almost ready to go. Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, says that every time the impending launch pops into her head, her stomach turns.