The JWST primarily observes wavelengths in the infrared, compared to the visible for Hubble, and is thus designed to observe light that has traveled for even longer. While the galaxy GN-z11 is the most distant object Hubble has observed, light having traveled 13.4 billion years to be captured, it is expected that the new telescope will break past this milestone in the coming months. The JWST will also be capable of looking back further in time. In comparison, it took Hubble weeks to collect comparable but less resolved data. It is also worth noting that the JWST was able to use its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument to collect the necessary data to produce its image of SMACS 0723 in just 12.5 hours. As a result, it is capable of capturing internal structural details of galaxies that Hubble simply cannot, such as star clusters and other diffuse features.
One of the chief design considerations of the JWST was to have a 6.5-meter diameter primary mirror, which has a light-collecting area about six times that of Hubble.
The most striking aspect of the image, however, is the improvement in resolution of this deep field over those previously taken by Hubble. The JWST was as a result able to gather light from one galaxy that has traveled for 13.1 billion years, originating just a 700 million years after the Big Bang. The cluster is so massive that it also acts as a lens, its gravity so powerful that light from more distant galaxies is focused and amplified. Light from the cluster took 4.6 billion years to reach Earth, providing a snapshot of the galaxies within from that period in cosmic history. The first operational image taken by the telescope, known as Webb’s First Deep Field, depicts the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. After many years of delays and a near cancellation in 2011 by the culturally backward American state (the telescope’s $10 billion cost could have, after all, been spent on yet another aircraft carrier), the JWST has successfully joined and advanced the constellation of humanity’s space-based observatories. Millions watched live as the images were unveiled and millions more have read reports, watched videos, posted on social media and talked among co-workers and friends about what the JWST has so far observed. The image also demonstrates gravitational lensing, magnifying galaxies otherwise invisible, some as old as 13.1 billion years. Webb's First Deep Field is an image which focuses on SMACS 0723 and was taken with the telescope's NIRCam instrument. The telescope builds off of the legacy of other space observatories like Chandra, Spitzer and, above all, Hubble which have produced groundbreaking scientific results and have simultaneously captivated and inspired workers and youth across the globe. The first light of the JWST has been anticipated by astronomers and the public for more than a decade. The event also has a mass social character. As a result, the data taken has already pushed past many of the previous capabilities set by earlier space telescopes. Thousands of researchers, scientists and engineers in the United States, Canada, Europe and elsewhere in the world worked tirelessly to understand and characterize the spacecraft’s performance while in orbit. Hundreds of commands from ground control to the astronomical observatory since it launched on December 25 were carried out flawlessly.
MONEYBAG DESIGN FULL
The images and accompanying data released on July 12 are a first glimpse of the full capabilities of the new astronomical observatory and mark a major step forward in humanity’s ability to understand the Universe and our place within it.īy all accounts, the imagery unveiled is a stunning scientific achievement. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), jointly operated by NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), has been successfully commissioned.
0 kommentar(er)
