Ahead of the biggest premiere the world of astronomy has ever seen, NASA has released the space A-list that will appear through the lens of its colossal new space telescope.
And it’s not just stars. There are galaxies, a planet too, and what promises to be the deepest look back in time humanity has ever managed.
On Tuesday, the first images from the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be shared with the world.
Only a handful of the thousands of scientists and engineers working on the project have ever seen them. But the words “spectacular” and “beautiful” are whispered among those who have done it.
In a teaser before the main release, NASA, the European and Canadian space agencies that collaborated on JWST, released a list of the five places in the universe that were first imaged by the telescope.
The locations aren’t exactly household names, but they’ve been carefully chosen to showcase the capabilities of the new infrared telescope and its huge 6.5m gold-plated mirror.
The first is the Carina Nebula, a 50-light-year-wide cloud of dust and stars 1,000 light-years from Earth. It is one of the most beautiful objects in our galaxy. But it is also important for understanding how we came to be. The colossal cloud of dust and gas is one of the most active star-forming regions ever discovered. Our solar system probably formed in a place just like it.
Astrophysicist Prof Martin Barstow of the University of Leicester said: “Infrared allows you to penetrate this dust and gas.
“It will give us a whole new perspective.”
According to Dr. Jeffrey Kargel of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, star-forming regions are more than just of scientific interest.
“They are not just beautiful, but they are philosophically mind-boggling and even spiritually moving as they contemplate the processes of creation and destruction and the almost certain origin of life in many, many planets around many stars in the nebula.”
Perhaps the most mind-boggling goal is one little known outside the field of astronomy.
Image: SMACS 0723. Photo: Space Telescope Science Institute
A region called SMACS 0723 where massive clusters of distant galaxies act to bend light due to their immense gravity. This “gravitational lensing” shows the earliest light in the universe.
We haven’t been able to see it before because the light is in the infrared spectrum – beyond the Hubble Space Telescope’s optics and invisible through our dusty atmosphere on Earth.
The prize, Prof. Barstow said, is “the first light”: the potential JWST should capture the earliest light in the universe, which appeared about 400 million years after the Big Bang.
“The web is the only tool we have to do that,” Prof Barstow said.
Will JWST be able to distinguish objects in infrared darkness? We’ll have to wait to find out.
A whole new view of a group of colliding galaxies called the Stefan Quintet will emerge, as will the “cosmic smoke ring” left by an exploding star called the Southern Ring Nebula.
Image: Stefan’s Quintet. Photo: NASA Image: The ‘Cosmic Smoke Ring’ left by an exploded star called the South Ring Nebula. Photo: NASA
The ultimate goal is miniscule compared to the others. A planet called WASP-96-b, more than 1,000 light-years from Earth, orbiting a star very similar to our Sun.
JWST’s measurements of this planet will hopefully prove its potential as a tool to search for life elsewhere in the universe.
“It won’t be a visual spectacle, but it will be a scientific treasure,” Dr Kargel said.
JWST will be able to study the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere in unprecedented detail by imaging it as it passes in front of its star.
Don’t get too excited – WASP-96-b is a Jupiter-like planet very close to its star, so almost certainly burning and lifeless.
These fuzzy objects in the night sky can leave many people cold. But the excitement among astronomers, cosmologists and planetary scientists ahead of Tuesday’s big reveal is palpable.
“Strap your brain, bolt the hatches and wait for your mind to be blown. It will be a category 5,” said Dr Kargel.
Add Comment