followingfirst photo of the morningAfter that, NASA brought us the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)previous noticethe remaining four of the five photos. The five images represent four of JWST’s main missions—looking into the origin of the universe, penetrating nebulae and stardust, understanding the origin and evolution of galaxies, and analyzing planetary atmospheres—plus a non-science, but Perhaps an equally important mission: to bring us magnificent views never seen before in the universe, and to show the wonders of the stars.
NASA
In the part looking at the origin of the universe, it is the SMACS 0723 galaxy cluster published in the morning, and in the part penetrating the nebula and stardust, JWST chose the southern ring nebula in the picture above. About 2,000 light-years away from Earth, this nebula is a planetary nebula formed from material scattered by a central star when it exploded. Because the dust particles contained in planetary nebulae block visible light, but it is difficult to block infrared light, JWST can better see the structure of the nebula, and even astronomers believe that the layer by layer concentric circle structure can push back the process of planetary explosion. . Through different infrared frequencies, astronomers were even able to clearly see the binary star in the middle (above right), while the star on the left in the normal visible light image is obscured by stardust and cannot be seen.
NASA
As part of understanding the origin and evolution of galaxies, the JWST team selected a group of galaxies called “Stephen’s Quintet.” Of these “quintuplets”, only four are really close enough to be pulled by gravity, while the fifth (the galaxy on the left in the picture) is in the foreground, at a distance from the other four quite far. With JWST’s high-resolution power, it’s easier than ever to see how the four galaxies pulling at each other affect each other, how matter is exchanged, the distribution of gas in between, and the formation of new stars.
NASA
In the analysis of planetary atmospheres, JWST brings different content. JWST utilizes that when a planet (WASP-96b) passes in front of its parent star, light from the parent star briefly passes through the planet’s atmosphere and is captured by JWST. By analyzing the spectrum of this light, JWST can tell which frequencies of light are absorbed and learn what is in the planet’s atmosphere. Several gases of most interest to scientists, including oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc., absorb spectral frequencies in the infrared range, making JWST ideal for such analysis. WASP-96b was found to have a very high content of water vapor in the atmosphere, which was an unexpected result.
Finally, there is the unforgettable beauty, and here the JWST team chose the Carina Nebula (main image), a nebula 8,500 light-years away from Earth that is forming new planets. Compared with Hubble, JWST here can also “see through” the dust cloud. In addition to seeing more details of the internal structure, it can also see the new planet that is hidden behind the cloud and is being generated.
