After the first preview, in which the President of the United States himself acted as the host of the ceremony, NASA has finally made the information public. First scientific photographs from the James Webb Space Telescope. It is important to emphasize that these are the first scientific photographs, because in reality we have already seen many of their images. The difference is that they were all the result of tests and adjustments of the telescope.
However, both yesterday’s images galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, like those just published, are already part of the work of James Webb. These are photographs taken for scientific purposes, although for us mere mortals, in principle, they could be considered works of art.
It’s no less. Each image gives us a view of the universe unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Thanks to his ability to observe in the infrared, James Webb can shoot incredible details for its predecessor, Hubble. But, in addition to the spectacular images, it is worth asking what is visible in them. And the truth is, in terms of content, there were no surprises. What NASA is showing us is very similar to what was expected in the catalog of the telescope’s first lenses. We knew roughly what it would be, but we had no idea it would be as impressive as we could see as NASA released each of the images little by little.
X-ray into the atmosphere of an exoplanet
“James Webb” also ventured into exoplanets in his first foray. It’s true that he didn’t take pictures, but he managed to capture a spectrum that will help scientists get some very important information about the planet’s atmosphere. Exoplanet WASP-96blocated just over 1,000 light-years from Earth.
Interestingly, this exoplanet was known as the first cloudless exoplanet. However, the spectrum obtained by the telescope clearly indicates their presence.
Source: Hiper Textual
