The first set of images from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal the wonders of our universe in more detail than before.
There are stars in the sky. There is a tangle of dust and baby stars. A planet with haze. Some of the oldest light in the known universe bends around huge holes of gravity to shine before our eyes.
Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA, said in a press conference today that each image will give a view of the universe never seen before. The telescope will be able to see light from far away.
NASA along with representatives from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency released five debut images of fascinating objects located a little closer to home.
Stephan's Quintet is a group of five tightly bound galaxies that are located in the constellation. In a dangerous dance of near-collisions, four of the tight-knit galaxies swoop past one another.
Two of the galaxies are merging into each other, according to the new image. The creation of new stars is caused by the hot gases and dust in the colliding galaxies.
It's thought that dark matter, an invisible, massive entity that's thought to hold much of the universe together, is caused by gravity.
The Carina Nebula is a bright and gassy area of star formation located approximately 7,600 light-years from Earth. Live Science reported that the nebula is home to many stars larger than our sun, and is one of the most active star-forming regions in the world.
The new image shows the "cosmic cliffs" of Carina in even more detail than before. There are hundreds of newborn stars in the gassy landscape. Scientists can't identify the strange structures created by the dust in the image.
Scientists will discover new insights into the birth of stars, perhaps even exploring the origins of our own solar system.
There is a figure-eight-shaped cloud of gas and dust expelled by a massive, dying star some 2,500 light-years from Earth. A blue haze of ionized gas explodes out of a doomed star at the center of a spectacular image.
There is a second red star twinkling next to the brighter blue one on the right. This is the first image to show the second star in the Southern Ring Nebula, and it's clear that it's a pair of stars. A clearly visible galaxies photo-bombing the background of the pictures hints at undiscovered discoveries.
Live Science previously reported that the dust particles thrown into space by the dying star could one day become the seeds of new stars and planets. Scientists may be able to better understand the cycles of stellar death and rebirth by studying this.
The giant planet WASP-96b is 1, 150 light-years from Earth. One year on this mostly gaseous planet is the equivalent of 3.4 Earth days.
Astronomers can easily study how light from the planet's home star is absorbed and reemitted by the planet's atmosphere. Scientists can discern the type and quantity of elements in the planet's atmosphere by breaking the spectrum of light down into component wavelength. There is a lot of water in WASP-96b's atmosphere.
Life is not likely to be harbored by blazing hot. Astronomers plan to take spectrum images of other planets beyond our solar system in order to find life outside our solar system.
On Monday, July 11th, President Joe Biden shared a picture of a cluster of stars. The image shows the deepest view of the universe ever captured, showing light that was emitted 13 billion years ago, which is very close to the estimated beginning of the universe.
The images are the culmination of NASA's 20-year project to launch a next generation space observatory. The telescope is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble and can capture crisp images of objects billions of light years away.
The first official operations of the telescope were six months after it was launched. For the first year of science operations, the telescope is fully booked, with plans to study everything from black holes to the beginnings of the universe.
NASA says that the most powerful space telescope ever built has more than 20 years of fuel on board, so be sure to tune in to Live Science for more updates.
Thaller said in the broadcast that the mission is open for scientific business. The best is still to come.
It was originally published on Live Science
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