The US space agency, NASA, has published new, full-color images taken by the giant James Webb Space Telescope, describing it in a tweet as a “global historical moment.”
“Each image is a new discovery,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Each of them will give humanity a view of the universe that we haven’t seen before.”
show one of the pictures New water vapor in the atmosphere of a distant gas giant planet, where the agency found evidence of clouds and fog around the planet, which orbits a distant star similar to the sun.
This image is “the most detailed of its kind to date, demonstrating the telescope’s unprecedented ability to analyze the atmosphere hundreds of light years away,” according to “NASA”.
“The more detailed image represents a huge leap forward in the quest to characterize potentially habitable extraterrestrial planets.”
Clouds on another world. @NASAWebb captured the signature of water on giant gas planet WASP 96-b, which orbits a star 1,150 light-years away. For the first time, we’ve detected evidence of clouds in this exoplanet’s atmosphere: https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniverse pic.twitter.com/f3HOX0HKis
– NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022
WASP-96 b is located regarding 1,150 light-years from Earth, has a mass regarding half the mass of Jupiter, and moves around its star in just 3.4 days.
The planet is one of more than 5,000 confirmed exoplanets in the Milky Way.
giant nebula
An image of the Southern Ring Nebula, a bright planetary nebula, was also published. (The nebula is a layer of gas and dust ejected from dying stars), according to NASA.
And the image obtained by “James Webb” made the second star of this nebula within sight, along with the extraordinary structures that formed when stars formed gas and dust around it.
“New details like this from the later stages of a star’s life will help us better understand how stars evolve and transform their environments,” NASA said.
This image also reveals “a cache of distant galaxies in the background, and most of the multi-colored points of light in the image are galaxies, not stars.”
Some stars go out with a bang. In these images of the Southern Ring planetary nebula, @NASAWebb shows a dying star cloaked by dust and layers of light. Explore this star’s final performance at https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniverse. pic.twitter.com/dfzrpvrewQ
– NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022
“Awesome details”
And “NASA” published a stunning image of Stephen’s Quintet, a group of 5 galaxies located regarding 300 million light-years away, and said that the telescope captured “incredible and unprecedented detail” amidst the thick dust.
She said They show “rare details regarding the interaction of galaxies, the formation of stars in each other and the emission of gas in galaxies”.
Take Five: Captured in exquisite detail, @NASAWebb peered through the thick dust of Stephan’s Quintet, a galaxy cluster showing huge shockwaves and tidal tails. This is a front-row seat to galactic evolution: https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniverse pic.twitter.com/em9wSJPkEU
– NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022
It posted an image of “mountains” and “valleys” in a region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula, which are dubbed “Cosmic Cliffs” and are located 7,600 light-years away.
Show picture The early stages of star formation, when young stars appear, ultraviolet rays and winds form huge walls of dust and gas.
NASA reported the discoveries in a live event:
We’re less than an hour away from a worldwide historic moment – the reveal of the first full-color images from @NASAWebb. Will you join the global watch party? Join the conversation using #UnfoldTheUniverse. Broadcast begins at 10:30am ET (14:30 UTC): https://t.co/9c81seDr3j
– NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022
On Monday, the agency revealed the first image from the telescope, in a stunning snapshot showing galaxies that formed shortly following the Big Bang more than 13 billion years ago.
She said that the image that shows the galaxy cluster “SMACS 0723” is “the deepest and clearest of the universe ever captured in infrared.”
She stated that the area covered by the image includes a small part of the universe, and said that this part includes “a patch of sky the size of a grain of sand that someone carries on the ground and looks at it at arm’s length.”
US President Joe Biden said at a ceremony at the White House, during which the photo was published, that it was the first of its kind and represented a “historic” day.
And this image was published six months following the launch of “James Webb”, the most powerful space telescope ever, that checks for planets outside our solar system, as well as looks at some of the oldest galaxies that formed following the “Big Bang”.
