The long-awaited first scientific images from the world’s leading space observatory are not expected until this summer. But the latest test images taken by the telescope during its final commissioning phase give an idea of what lies ahead.
“These are the sharpest infrared images ever made by a space telescope,” said Michael McAlwayne, a scientist with the Webb Observatory project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, during a news conference Monday.
Webb will be able to peek inside the atmospheres of exoplanets and observe some of the first galaxies created since the beginning of the universe, observing them through infrared light that is invisible to the human eye. The images were taken after the successful alignment of the massive golden mirror segments of the telescope. The test images show clear, well-focused images that the four instruments of the observatory can capture.
But the most impressive result came from comparing images taken on the same target by Webb’s mid-infrared instrument with the retired Spitzer Space Telescope’s infrared camera.
Spitzer, once one of the space telescopes belonging to NASA’s Large Observatory program, was the first to capture high-resolution images of the universe in near and medium infrared light.
Webb’s giant mirror and sensitive detectors can capture even more detail – and allow more discoveries – than Spitzer.
Scientists studying the two images of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small neighboring galaxy on the larger Milky Way, have noted that the Web image reveals unprecedented details of interstellar gas between stars.
“You can estimate that Webb images will be better because we have 18 segments, each larger than the single segment, so to speak, that forms the mirror of the Spitzer Space Telescope,” said Marcia Rique, principal investigator. of Web’s Infrared Camera and Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona during the press conference.
“But it’s only when you really see the image he provides that you really internalize and say to yourself, ‘Wow, just think about what we’re going to learn.’ Spitzer taught us a lot. It’s like a whole new world. “
Near the starting line
Webb is now in the final stages of preparation before being ready to begin conducting scientific observations.
“I’d call it homestretch,” McAlwein said. “We have about 1,000 activities planned for commissioning, and only about 200 activities remain to be completed.
Webb’s instruments go through their latest checks and calibrations as the ground-based telescope team evaluates each of them to make sure they’re ready to collect data properly.
Each instrument has about four or five scientific modes, each of which must meet specific criteria. One of Webb’s special modes involves tracking moving targets, which is especially useful for scientists who want to study objects in the icy regions of our solar system as they orbit the sun.
“When this phase is over, we will be ready to launch scientific instruments into the universe,” McAlwein said.
The first images
The first images of the Web of the Universe, called Early Release Observations or EROs, are expected to be released in mid-July, said Klaus Pontopidan, a Webb scientist at the Baltimore Space Telescope Science Institute, during a news conference. A more precise date will be announced later, he said.
These first “spectacular color images” will show that Webb is fully operational and is a festive “beginning of many years of science,” Pontopidan said.
Web’s exact goals for these first images have not been revealed because the telescope team does not want to spoil the surprise. And those goals can change as the team gets closer to capturing images.
The first images will be similar to what we are used to seeing from the Hubble Space Telescope in terms of aesthetic quality, Pontopidan said.
“Astronomy will not be the same again once we see what (the Web) can do with these first observations,” said Christopher Evans, a Webb scientist at the European Space Agency, during a news conference.
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