The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be placed in an orbit around the Sun, much like the Earth and other planets in our solar system. Although it may seem like the telescope is orbiting "nothing" because it will not be in orbit around the Earth, it will actually follow a specific trajectory known as a halo orbit around the second Lagrange point (L2) of the Earth-Sun system.
Lagrange points are specific locations in space where the gravitational forces of two large bodies (in this case, the Earth and the Sun) balance out the centrifugal force experienced by a smaller object (in this case, the JWST) in its orbit. The L2 point lies on a line connecting the Earth and the Sun, but it is about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) away from the Earth in the direction opposite to the Sun.
The JWST will be placed in a halo orbit around the L2 point, which is essentially an orbit that allows the telescope to remain relatively stable with respect to the Earth-Sun system. This orbit requires careful calculations and adjustments to account for gravitational interactions between the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and other celestial bodies.
By placing the JWST at the L2 point, it will have a few advantages. It will be shielded from the heat and light of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, which allows for better infrared observations. Additionally, this orbit provides a relatively stable platform for long-duration observations and minimizes interference from Earth's heat and radio transmissions.
While the JWST will not be orbiting "nothing" in the conventional sense, its halo orbit around the L2 point provides a strategic location that enables it to carry out its mission to observe the universe in infrared wavelengths with unprecedented sensitivity and clarity.