James Webb Just Sent His First Sharp Image, and It’s Gorgeous – Teach Me About Science

Although the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star in the center to assess the telescope’s alignment, Webb and NIRCam’s optical systems are so sensitive that galaxies and stars in the background can be seen. (Credit: NASA/STScI).

We can finally see the long-awaited sharp image captured by the most powerful telescope in history. NASA showed a few hours ago new images from the James Webb Space Telescope thus confirming correct alignment and that all optical parameters are working as well as they can.

To show what it’s capable of, Webb focused on a bright star, called 2MASS J17554042+6551277, better known as TYC 4212-1079-1, located regarding 2,000 light-years away. click on it here to see the image in better resolution.

Small adjustments, major progress!

Having completed 2 more mirror alignment steps, #NASAWebb’s optical performance will be able to meet or exceed its science goals. Now that’s good optics! ???? https://t.co/lGUdT9emkD #UnfoldTheUniverse

Curious regarding this image? Thread ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/OQXb20rrL7

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) March 16, 2022

Webb’s goal in the image was to focus on a single bright star, but his optics are so sensitive that galaxies are visible in the background. This image is still part of the preparation of the telescope, for the alignment of the mirror. We now know that everything is going great and JWST is expected to even exceed its scientific goals.

“We have fully aligned the telescope and focused it on a star, and the performance is exceeding specifications. We are excited regarding what this means for science.” Ritva Keski-Kuha said in a statement, deputy manager of the Webb Optical Telescope Element at NASA’s Goddard Center. “Now we know we’ve built the right telescope.”

We also have a new “selfie” that was created using a specialized pupillary imaging lens from the NIRCam instrument that was designed to take images of the primary mirror segments rather than images of the sky. (Credit: NASA/STScI).

The James Webb Space Telescope, also called Webb or JWST, is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. Its development was thanks to the work of more than a thousand scientists from all over the world, for more than 2 decades in which a series of difficulties had to be overcome.

The main objectives of this mission are: 1) Search for the first galaxies or luminous objects formed following the Big Bang. 2) Determine how galaxies evolved from their formation until now. 3) Observe the formation of stars from the earliest stages to the formation of planetary systems. 4) Measure the physical and chemical properties of planetary systems, including our own Solar System, and investigate the potential for life in those systems.

Webb is designed to see infrared light, light that is just outside the visible spectrum, and just outside what we can see with our human eyes. The longer wavelengths of infrared penetrate dust more easily, allowing you to see more clearly; In addition, it allows scientists to go back in time thanks to a phenomenon called red shift. This means that the telescope acts as a powerful time machine, during its scientific observations it will be able to capture the light that has been traveling through space since 13.5 billion years ago, when the first stars and galaxies were formed in the Earth. darkness of the early universe.

Webb is now the world’s premier space science observatory, seen as the successor to the legendary Hubble Space Telescope, but not a replacement, as the missions will be complementary as long as its instruments continue to function. Webb is a nearly $10 billion engineering marvel, and when it’s fully operational it will help us solve the mysteries of our solar system, look beyond it to distant worlds around other stars, and investigate the mysterious structures and origins of the solar system. of our universe and our place in it.

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