The number and position of struts holding up the secondary mirror determine the struts’ diffraction spike pattern. When light hits a strut, the light bends into a single, perpendicular pattern shown here by yellow/red/blue dashed lines. Hubble's four struts make a cross-shaped pattern. JWST's three struts make a squished, 6-pointed star pattern. (5/7)
JWST’s eight-pointed diffraction spikes are made by two overlapping, 6-pointed patterns, a stronger one from the mirror and a fainter one from the struts. (6/7)