To which destination is the James Webb Space Telescope headed?

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is headed to a destination 15,00,000 km (9,32,057 mi) away from Earth. A day after it soared into skies following a nerve-wracking launch, the telescope has covered nearly 23 percent of its journey to the location known as the second Lagrange point. It was launched on the 25th of December 2021.

The world’s largest and most complex space science observatory will now begin six months of commissioning in space. At the end of commissioning, Webb will deliver its first images. This telescope will study infrared light from celestial objects with much greater clarity than ever before.

The Webb won't be orbiting the Earth –instead it is being sent almost a million miles out into space to a place called "L2." L2 is short-hand for the second Lagrange Point, a wonderful accident of gravity and orbital mechanics, and the perfect place to park the Webb telescope in space. There are five so-called "Lagrange Points" - areas where gravity from the Sun and Earth balance the orbital motion of a satellite. Putting a spacecraft at any of these points allows it to stay in a fixed position relative to the Earth and sun with a minimal amount of energy needed for course correction.