A photo of the universe will be released in a matter of days, going deeper into the universe than ever before, and showing some of the oldest stars and galaxies.
NASA officials said during a news conference on Wednesday that the image is one of 10 to 20 that will come from the James Webb Space Telescope. The new snapshots have left some scientists on the verge of tears, and for the few scientists who have seen a sneak peek.
Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science missions, said that it's an emotional moment when nature suddenly releases some of its secrets. It is not a picture. It is a new way of seeing things.
The telescope was launched from Earth about six months ago and is now 1 million miles away. The telescope has enough fuel on board to support research over the next 20 years, according to NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy.
Telescope alignment test pictures show the brilliance of the telescope.
During a broadcasted event at 10:30 a.m., the images and scientific data will be made public. On July 12th, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The public can watch live on NASA TV.
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It's not like taking pictures with a phone at the sky and clicking. It takes a couple of weeks to process the reams of data.
Data doesn't look like a beautiful color image when it's down. Klaus Pontoppidan is an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute. It is only when you are an expert that you can appreciate them.
The atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system will be studied by the telescope. Astronomers can use the light data to find out what kind of molecule exists in the atmosphere.
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Some of the oldest, faintest light in the universe will be observed by the Canadian Space Agency. A period less than 300 million years after the Bigbang will be studied by the telescope. It will be used by scientists to peer into the atmosphere of other worlds. Water and methane are the main ingredients of life.
Astronomers think that a golden age in our understanding of the universe is about to start with the emergence of a new star. While not undercutting some of the planned observations, this first crop of targets was picked to show off the telescope at its fullest potential.
NASA is tight-lipped about what's next. So far, we know what we're talking about.
If the Webb photo is going to go deeper than what humans have seen before, it must surpass the Hubble Space Telescope's Ultra Deep Field survey. Credit: NASA/Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope's Ultra Deep Field survey was taken about 20 years ago. There are nearly 10,000 galaxies of different ages, shapes, and colors in the famous image.
Light and other forms of radiation take a long time to reach us in astronomy. The oldest visible galaxies are 800 million years old. The universe is estimated to be 13 billion years old.
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It was built to see an earlier period using a larger mirror than Hubble and detecting invisible light. The view to extremely distant and inherently dim light sources can be obscured by a lot of dust and gas in space. The heat of a bumblebee on the moon could be detected by the telescope.
Eric Smith, the program scientist for the mission, said that the initial goal was to see the first stars and galaxies.
When exoplanets cross in front of their host star, the star’s light is filtered through that atmosphere. Credit: ESA, NASA, M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble), and STScI
A study of the light that passes through a planet's atmosphere will be presented by the team.
There should be tens of thousands of so-called exoplanets, worlds that are outside of the solar system and can be seen by the naked eye. According to The Planetary Society, the universe could have hundreds of billions of stars. Billions of trillions of planets can be found out there if most stars have at least one planet around them.
It is possible for scientists to study planet atmospheres. The star's light is reflected through the atmosphere when exoplanets cross. Astronomers can see what light segments are missing by splitting the star's light into its basic parts.
"It's an emotional moment when you see nature suddenly releasing some of its secrets."
Scientists say knowing what's in a planet's atmosphere is important. Life on the planet revealed carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the atmosphere. By studying atmospheres, researchers can determine if other planets are hospitable to life.
It is likely that it is not a rocky world like Earth. Astronomers probably targeted one of the gas giant exoplanets because they are easier to analyze.
Some of the James Webb Space Telescope observations will focus on objects in the solar system, like Jupiter and its moons. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team via Getty Images
It's not known if the first photo drop will include pictures of space objects or neighboring planets.
The science themes that inspired the mission are expected to be highlighted in the first images.
Five days worth of scientific data will be collected by the team by July 12. After five days, they'll likely have doubled that output.
"If we don't see anything within our solar system on July 12, we will certainly see the planets very soon."
If we don't see anything in our solar system on July 12th, we will see the planets very soon.
The program will focus on getting a lot of initial data out to scientists so they can learn the telescope's capabilities. The first five months of the observatory's operations will be covered.
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It's not clear what other "WOW" images will be among that first photo drop, but the team has provided some clues about how they've divided the observatory's time for science work.
One-third of the program will be devoted to studying the gas and dust in the stars. The priorities aren't the only ones.
The origins of 25% of the planets.
The life cycles of 20% stars are focused on how they are born and how they die.
Black holes at the center of 10% of the universe.
5% of the population is devoted to other planets and comets.
5% or more is dedicated to the expansion of the universe.
Many of the pictures coming in the release will be called firsts in astronomy.
Zurbuchen said it was hard not to break records with the telescope.
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