After two decades and $10 billion, the James Webb Space Telescope has delivered its first science images. Wow.
President Biden presented the first image from the project at a press conference yesterday. A foreground galaxy cluster that is acting as a gravitational lens is shown in the image. The ancient galaxies are redshifted due to their extreme distances.
NASA, CSA, and STScI are shown.
In comparison to the Hubble Space Telescope, which takes weeks to take deep-field shots, the JWST only took 12.5 hours to get this view. Researchers were able to determine the basic chemical composition of a 13.1 billion-year-old galaxy in the background thanks to JWST.
The world's largest and most powerful space telescope is going to be a huge hit based on the quality of yesterday's deep image as well as the other breathtaking images released today.
A team of representatives from NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Canadian Space Agency, and the European Space Agency were responsible for selecting the remaining images. Two nebulae, a tight group of interacting galaxies, and a strange exoplanet are today's targets.
Today's images showed the Carina Nebula, a stellar nursery for massive stars that is located some 7,600 light-years away; the Southern Ring Nebula, the ejected remains of a dying star that is some 2,000 light-years away; and Stephen's Quintet, a compact star that is
NASA, CSA, and STScI are shown.
There is a brown bank of gas and dust in the picture, which gives it the appearance of a ridge. Hundreds of stars never-before-seen to human eyes can be seen in this image. The view shows gas jets blowing dust from newborn stars, and the high-resolution shot shows structures that are not yet understood. It's possible to see more than visual light because of the gas and dust that comes from the IR light. The image shows gas congealing to create stars and jets of energy to sculpt the surrounding nebula.
NASA, CSA, and STScI are shown.
For the first time, detailed views of the Southern Ring Nebula reveal that one of the stars is covered in dust. By monitoring the interplay of starlight, gas, and dust over time, scientists will be able to better understand the dynamics of dying stars like the Sun.
NASA, CSA, and STScI are shown.
There is a bright heart of heated materials falling into a black hole. astrophysicists will be able to better understand what happens around black holes thanks to the data and imagery. Highly specific, never-before-seen interactions in the group as star birth is triggered were revealed by the individual stars that were captured by the Near- and Mid-Infrared Telescope.
NASA, CSA, and STScI are shown.
The WASP-96 b's were taken by JWST. By breaking down the light streaming through the planet's atmosphere, scientists uncovered evidence of water Vapor, leading them to believe WASP-96 b features something familiar to us here on Earth. While not a visually stunning image, the result shows that JWST will help astronomy make great strides at better understanding both the planets of our solar system and the rocky, Earth-like worlds that reside farther out.
NASA/BallAerospace
The James Webb Space Telescope is comprised of a 21.3 feet mirror, 18 gold-plated hexagons, a tennis court sized Sun shield, and four high-tech instruments. The Sun is at a point called L2 where the Earth and Sun compete with each other for space.
The JWST was launched from French Guiana on Christmas day in 2021. That is also very good news. It's too far away to be serviced like Hubble. The $10 billion mission is over if it breaks down.
A lot is riding on this instrument for astronomy. Researchers plan to study everything from the evolution of the early universe to the existence of exoplanets. This week's images are just the beginning of science returning that will change astronomy for decades to come.
The article was first published on Astronomy.com
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