“James Webb” sent to Earth the first pictures to adjust the mirrors of the telescope and a selfie with star reflections

  • Nikolai Voronin
  • Science Correspondent

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Photographer, EPA

Launched into space a month and a half ago, NASA’s James Webb Infrared Observatory transmitted to Earth the first photographs taken at the final point of its journey, at a distance of regarding 1.5 million kilometers from our planet.

However, those who expect to see stunning pictures of distant galaxies in the pictures taken by astronomers – like those photographed by Hubble – will be disappointed. The first images from the James Webb’s main camera are neither bright nor clear nor varied.

Photographer, NASA

Strictly speaking, the resulting image is composed of more than 1,000 individual photographs of the same star – HD 84406, located at a distance of only regarding 260 light-years, in the constellation Ursa Major, and in characteristics very similar to our Sun.

It is impossible to see it from Earth with the naked eye. But if you have powerful binoculars (or any telescope – even a child’s telescope will do), finding HD 84406 in the night sky is not difficult. You just need to find the Ursa Big Dipper known to any schoolchild and look a little to the right.

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