GREENBELT, Md., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

GREENBELT, Md., July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Even while construction of the James Webb Space Telescope is underway on the most advanced infrared vision of any space observatory, its technologies are already proving useful to human eye health here on Earth. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "The Webb telescope program has enabled a number of improvements in measurement technology for astronomy, mirror fabrication, and measurement of human eyes, diagnosis of ocular diseases and potentially improved surgery," said Dr.

Adaptive optics technology likely to spur sight-saving interventions, usher in new era of eye disease research, diagnosis and treatment.

Observations with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, along with two other telescopes, have shown that there is a new candidate for the coldest known star: a brown dwarf in a double system with about the same temperature as a freshly made cup of tea — hot in human terms, but extraordinarily cold for the surface of a star.

The problem of space junk floating around Earth, which could one day force nations to cancel interstellar missions, could be solved using ground-based lasers, claims a new report prepared by NASA-affiliated scientists.