NASA on Tuesday unveiled a new batch of images from its powerful new space telescope, including a frothy blue and orange photo of a dying star.
The first image from America’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was released Monday at the White House of a jumble of distant galaxies that have penetrated deeper into space than humanity has ever seen.
The four additional photos released on Tuesday include more shots of the cosmic beauty.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden unveiled the first image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. (NASA)
With one exception, the latest images showed parts of the universe observed by other telescopes. But Webb’s sheer power, remote location beyond Earth and use of the infrared light spectrum showed them in a new light.
“Each image is a new discovery, and each one will give humanity insights into humanity that we’ve never seen before,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday, admiring images showing “the formation of stars engulfing black holes.”
Webb’s use of the infrared light spectrum allows the telescope to see through cosmic dust and “see light from distant light from the corners of the universe,” he said.
“We have really changed the understanding of our universe,” said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
The European and Canadian space agencies joined NASA in building the powerful telescope.
On Tuesday, images were released of:
- The Southern Ring Nebula, which is sometimes called the “burst of eight”. About 2,500 light-years away, it shows an expanding cloud of gas surrounding a dying star.
- The Carina Nebula, one of the bright star nurseries in the sky, about 7,600 light years away.
- Five galaxies in a cosmic dance, 290 million light years away. Stephan’s Quintet was first seen 225 years ago in the constellation Pegasus.
- A bluish giant planet called WASP-96b. It is about the size of Saturn and is 1150 light years away. A gas planet, it is not a candidate for life elsewhere, but it is a key target for astronomers.
The images were released one by one at an event at NASA’s Goddard Space Center that featured cheerleaders wearing pom poms the color of the telescope’s golden mirrors.
A huge mosaic of Stefan’s quintet is the largest image ever taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, covering about a fifth of the moon’s diameter. It contains more than 150 million pixels and is made up of almost 1000 individual image files. The visual clustering of five galaxies was imaged by JWST’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI)
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope took off last December from French Guiana in South America. It reached its vantage point 1.6 million kilometers from Earth in January.
Then began the long process of aligning the mirrors, cooling the infrared detectors enough to work, and calibrating the science instruments, all protected by a canopy the size of a tennis court that keeps the telescope cool.
Webb is considered the successor to the highly successful but outdated Hubble Space Telescope.
Add Comment