Astronomers would call this isolated, sunlike star boring as a serial number name.
HD84406 was plucked from obscurity and used by NASA to confirm the work on the James Webb Space Telescope.
A crystal clear photo of the star was released with the announcement. It is too faint to see with the naked eye, but it is a beacon of light, flaming red with large spikes.
The first snapshot of the telescope in February showed 18 golden blurry blobs representing a star. NASA promised to make the star look like a star after further calibrating the instrument.
A new photo was delivered on a promise. One could easily read the meaning of the news conference.
See? We told you so.
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's science mission directorate, said that all of the sleepless nights he had were behind him.
Tweet may have been deleted
Marshall Perrin, the deputy telescope scientist, said that the telescope captures the light that is invisible to human eyes. The black-and-white data was toned down to show off the contrast of the star. The hexagonal mirror segments and arms that hold the secondary mirror are the reason for the sharp structures from the center. The way the light travels is affected by them.
When you have a bright star, you see that most intensely, according to Perrin.
The stage of telescope alignment was finished by the team on March 11. NASA officials said that every optical measurement they have checked and tested so far is performing better than expected. There are no critical issues that could taint future photography.
Some of the oldest, faintest light in the universe will be observed by the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. The telescope will look at a period less than 300 million years after the Big bang, when many of the first stars and galaxies were born. It will be used to peer into the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system. The main ingredients of life are water and methane.
The telescope will allow us to see billions of light-years away in a golden age for our understanding of the universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope can now take clear images of the night sky. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
The photo was a proof of concept. The ones coming this June will be full-resolution with scientific data. NASA has not disclosed what targets will be included in the first photos.
Scientists are excited about the first look at deep space. In the background of the HD84406 shot are stars and other objects that are sensitive to the light of the Near-Infrared Camera.
"There's no way that Webb can look for 2,000 seconds at any point in the sky and not go incredibly deep."
You can see those thousands of galaxies behind it. They are gorgeous, said Jane Rigby, a project scientist.
The observatory needs to be in shape for performing all of its scientific functions. The team will align other instruments over the next six weeks.
Space lovers will be primed for fireworks.
This is going to be the future from now on.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
