James Webb Space Telescope. Provided by NASA.
Full-color images and spectral data observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful next-generation space telescope in human history, will be unveiled for the first time on July 12 (local time).
NASA announced on July 12 that it will release the first full-color observational imagery and spectral data sent to Earth by James Webb. Currently, James Webb has gone through six months of preparation for actual observation, including calibrating and aligning 18 mirrors to the space environment.
Since 1996, James Webb has spent regarding $10 billion (regarding 11.8 trillion won) in production alone. It is considered to be the largest project in the history of astronomy. The diameter of the main mirror, which is made by connecting 18 golden hexagonal mirrors in a honeycomb shape, reaches 6.5m. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, which observed the visible and near-infrared spectrum, it is also possible to observe the infrared band, allowing us to observe deeper space in space.
James Webb was launched on December 25, last year, on Christmas Day, and following flying for a month, it landed at Lagrange L2, its final destination, 1.5 million km from Earth at the end of January.
“The first image released is the fruit of decades of dedication, passion and dreams, but it is only the beginning,” said Eric Smith, scientist at NASA’s James Webb program. .
After the mirrors and equipment on James Webb are calibrated and tested, the first observations and spectroscopic observations are made. NASA will receive the data sent by James Webb and process it into images for astronomers and the public. It is difficult to confirm at this time what kind of celestial object the image will be sent.
After releasing the first images, James Webb’s official mission for scientists, including astronomers, is carried out. By observing the universe in the infrared region and analyzing the collected data, new studies on the expansion of the universe and the evolution of the universe, which have been difficult to confirm so far, are expected to emerge one following another.
NASA said, “It may send interesting observational data regarding dark matter or dark energy that mankind has not yet confirmed.”
