With the release of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12 (and a sneak peek from US President Joe Biden on July 11), NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency proved the $10 billion, 1 million miles from Earth, scope of a two-decade dream it actually works. And it works flawlessly. Just look at the improved visual effects provided by Webb over its predecessor, Hubble. They are intuitive masterpieces that make us think about the magnificence of the universe and contemplate the tiny corner of our solar system.
But what we saw in early July was just the preface to JWST’s book. The following chapters will write his legacy.
Although the telescope’s first full-color results were excellent, they are only a glimpse of the instrument’s capabilities. In truth, we may not even have the words to describe what lies ahead, the way the Hubble Space Telescope’s first light image could not predict the astonishing deep fields that would one day plaster the walls of the astronomy department. or the nebulae that would inspire poetry.
Five galaxies, locked in a dance, make up Stefan’s Quintet. JWST images posted on July 12, 2022.
NASA
But we may be able to infer some scenes from JWST’s future, because despite the recent public use of this telescope, scientists have been lining up for years to use it.
Researchers are now ready to point it at phenomena that will blow your mind: massive black holes, rocking galaxy mergers, luminescent binary stars emitting smoke signals, and even wonders closer to home like Ganymede, Jupiter’s icy moon.
Specifically, the first few lucky scientists have proposals divided into six categories, each carefully selected by the James Webb Space Telescope Advisory Committee and the Space Telescope Science Institute in November 2017 – not to mention more than 200 international projects, separately awarded telescope time and ready to join the waiting list.
But the initial lineup of JWST space explorers is designed to be a win-win for both scientists and “scope.” These studies will create data sets, baselines, handy life hacks, and generally prepare the tools of the mighty machine for whatever comes next. For the great moments that will go down in history.
Artist’s concept of the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA GSFC/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez
“To realize the full scientific potential of the James Webb Space Telescope, it is imperative that the scientific community quickly learn to use its instruments and capabilities,” says a page about the director’s discretionary early launch programs, which were put together to select which researchers will test JWST for the first 5 months of science operations (after the telescope’s 6-month commissioning period).
Looking at the list raised my expectations – and I bet it will raise yours too.
Here is an excerpt.
Turn the page for JWST
About 3.5 billion light years from Earth is a huge galaxy cluster called Abell 2744, also known as the Pandora Cluster.
Arguably, it is the perfect starting candidate for JWST, as it is part of the ancient, distant universe. NASA’s next-generation telescope contains a wealth of infrared imaging equipment that has access to light emitted from deep space—light that neither the human eye nor standard optical telescopes can see. It’s a research meeting made in heaven.
Thus, a team of researchers plans to observe what is happening in this brilliant galaxy cluster, hidden from human sight but vital to astrophysical progress.
Abell 2744 imaged by combining X-rays from Chandra (diffuse blue emission) with optical light data from Hubble (red, green and blue).
NASA/CXC; Optical: NASA/STScI
They plan to use two of JWST’s instruments, called the Near-Infrared Spectrograph and the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph, both of which can simply decode the chemistry of distant worlds stuck in the infrared we can’t pass through.
But JWST is not just a visionary. It can turn on its reading glasses to scan nearby things as well.
That’s why another team is more interested in how to navigate phenomena in our own cosmic neighborhood. Their drawings say they will characterize Jupiter’s cloud layers, winds, composition, temperature structure, and even auroral activity — aka the Jupiterian version of our aurora borealis.
This research arm is ready to use almost all of JWST’s ground-breaking infrared equipment: Nirspec, Niriss, as well as the Near Infrared Camera – JWST’s Alpha Camera – and the Mid-Infrared Imaging Camera (MIRI), which, as you might have guessed, specializes in detecting mid-infrared light. “Thus, our program will demonstrate the capabilities of the JWST instruments on one of the largest and brightest sources in the Solar System and on very faint targets next to it,” they wrote in their abstract.
Some of the work on Jupiter has already been done, according to the project’s status report, and observation windows continue into August. In addition, Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the largest in the Solar System, and the extremely active Io will also be studied with MIRI. The latter is particularly interesting as researchers hope to resolve Io’s volcanoes and compare Webb’s views with classical views.
Jupiter, center, and its moon Europa, left, seen through the James Webb Space Telescope’s 2.12 micron NIRCam filter.
NASA, ESA, CSA and B. Holler and J. Stansbury (STScI)
Next are the dust-focused scientists. But not just dust. Star dust.
We know that dust is the main ingredient in the formation of stars and planets that decorate our universe, but we’re still in the dark about the timeline they followed to get us to where we are today—especially since much of this , which is crucial to our – the dust of existence is scattered throughout the early universe. And the early universe was illuminated only by infrared light.
Aha Exactly what JWST can – and will – dig into.
Cracking the stardust story means building an understanding of the building blocks of our cosmic universe—much like how studying atoms opens up knowledge about chunks of matter. And as Carl Sagan once said, “The cosmos is inside us. We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Perhaps JWST can help the universe in its quest for introspection.
Just wait until JWST sees this
Overall, over the past many months, as a science writer, I’ve witnessed the repetition of an overwhelming feeling. “Just wait until the James Webb Space Telescope sees it.”
Not exactly in those words, but definitely in that tone.
In April, for example, the Hubble Space Telescope reached a record-breaking milestone when it provided us with an image of the most distant star ever seen from the far universe. A star beauty named Earendel, which accurately translates to “morning star” in Old English.
“The study of Earendel will be a window into an era of the universe that we are not familiar with, but that gave rise to everything we know,” Brian Welch, one of the discovering astronomers at Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement.
Earendel (indicated by an arrow) is positioned along ripples in space-time, giving it extreme magnification, allowing it to come into view of its host galaxy, which appears as a red blob across the sky.
NASA
But remember how JWST was armed to study the ancient, unseen universe? Exactly. The study’s authors are set to look at Earendel with JWST’s lens, hopefully to confirm whether it is indeed just one stellar body and to quantify what kind of rising star it is.
JWST may also solve a mysterious puzzle posed by Neptune, the gaseous blue jewel of our solar system: It’s getting colder for no apparent reason. But “the extraordinary sensitivity of the space telescope’s mid-infrared instrument, MIRI, will provide unprecedented new maps of the chemistry and temperatures of Neptune’s atmosphere,” Lee Fletcher, co-author of the mystery study and a planetary scientist at the University of Leicester, said in a statement.
There’s also the intrigue of decoding the brutal majesties of our cosmic realm: supermassive black holes—and even one strange, multibillion-dollar, thriving black hole progenitor.
“Webb will have the power to decisively determine how common these fast-growing black holes are,” Seiji Fujimoto, one of the astronomer discoverers at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, said in a statement.
Comparison of Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope images: See the difference
See all photos
Finally, I would say that the most mind-blowing aspect of JWST – at least to me – is that it is currently the best chance we have for finding evidence of extraterrestrial life. aliens.
Some scientists are even prematurely guarding against false positives for organic matter that the JWST software might catch so as not to alarm the general public (me) when that day comes. But if that day comes, our jaws will no doubt drop to the floor and our pulses will quicken, unequivocally considering July 12th a light memory.
And even if that day doesn’t come, it won’t be long until NASA’s new muse of space exploration sends back a field-changing image like Hubble’s first deep field in 1995—one we still can’t understand.
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