A giant golden eye orbiting the sun about a million miles from Earth will give people an unprecedented view of the universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope, a powerful $10 billion observatory operated by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, has cooled to its optimum temperature. Engineers have completed the calibration of the science instruments. The 21-foot-diameter mirror telescope is now open for operation.
Get ready for stunning astronomical pictures and data, scientists say.
SEE ALSO: The Webb Telescope took the deepest picture of the universe ever
NASA will release the first full-color images and science data from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, 2022. Credit: NASA / Chris Gunn
“We’re just beginning to understand what the Webb can and will do,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a briefing last week. “It might answer some questions we have: Where did we come from? What else is out there? Who are we? And of course it will answer some questions we don’t even know what they are.”
For the first photo release, NASA plans to reveal the images one by one during a broadcast event at 10:30 a.m. ET on July 12. You can watch this event live on NASA TV.
Then you can ask the experts your burning questions about the new photos and science. Questions can be asked on social media by using the #askNASA hashtag on Twitter or by leaving a comment in the Facebook chat section. Representatives from the Webb team will answer some of these space queries during a NASA Science Live program at 3:00 PM ET on July 13.
“It might answer some questions we have: Where do we come from? What else is there? Who are we?”
But if you want to get right to the brass pins, the images will be posted on this NASA webpage or this Space Telescope Science Institute page.
The huge telescope consists of 18 hexagonal mirrors that are now perfectly aligned. Alignment test images have already demonstrated the unparalleled sharpness and clarity of the infrared telescope. But these upcoming images will be the first to provide full-color images and demonstrate Webb’s advanced science capabilities
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NASA has kept most of the presentation under wraps, but officials confirmed last week that they will show a photo that is the farthest humans have ever looked into deep space.
What’s more, the space agency will publish an atmospheric observation of a planet not in this solar system — what’s known as an exoplanet spectrum. The light data from the spectrum provides astronomers with detailed information about what molecules—such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane—exist there. These findings could help determine whether other planets could be hospitable to life.
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