It’s been exactly a year since the James Webb Space Telescope began its science operations—and to celebrate NASA has published a stunning new image.
The image—a small star-forming region in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex—was published to celebrate an entire year of science since its iconic “first light” debut images on July 12, 2022 of the Stephan’s Quintet galaxies, the Carina Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula and the spectrum of exoplanet WASP-96b.
“In just one year, the James Webb Space Telescope has transformed humanity’s view of the cosmos, peering into dust clouds and seeing light from faraway corners of the universe for the very first time. Every new image is a new discovery, empowering scientists around the globe to ask and answer questions they once could never dream of,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator. “Webb is an investment in American innovation but also a scientific feat made possible with NASA’s international partners that share a can-do spirit to push the boundaries of what is known to be possible. Thousands of engineers, scientists, and leaders poured their life’s passion into this mission, and their efforts will continue to improve our understanding of the origins of the universe–and our place in it.”
The new image is available to download from NASA right now, but it’s also being made available to download in very high resolution from the website of the from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
First Year in Space
The infrared space telescope’s first year has included several “Webb Deep Field” images that have shown astronomers a first glimpse of galaxies and stars closer to the Big Bang than ever before.
Webb found its first exoplanet and studied the atmospheres of many alien worlds. It also broke new ground in our solar system. Just a few weeks ago NASA published a stunning image of Saturn in infrared while in May, Webb spied a massive new plume of water vapor spilling into space from the ringed planet’s tiny moon Enceladus.
They came on the back of some astonishing images of Jupiter in infrared that revealed the giant planet’s incredible storms, cloud bands, faint aurora, rings and tiny moons.
Secret Weapons
The technical side behind Webb’s stunning discoveries comes from the fact that it’s the first-ever space telescope that can capture far-infrared light. Infrared light is long wavelength light that we can’t see. It’s ancient light from very distant objects.
Webb’s real secret weapon is its NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), which sees infrared light as heat. To sense such faint heat signals, Webb’s instruments are kept on one side that’s kept super-cold side (about -385ºF-233ºC) by a five-layer, tennis court-sized sun-shield made of kapton. There’s a vacuum between the layers that acts as an insulator.
Making the Invisible Visible
Infrared light is invisible to the human eye so the light that NIRCam collects is mapped onto the visible spectrum, with filters used to make these incredible images.
Webb also has a giant mirror like nothing else ever sent to space. Its 6.6 meter primary mirror—six times the collecting power of the Hubble Space Telescope—is made from beryllium and comprises 18 hexagonal segments, each one covered in a super-thin layer of gold that’s exceptional at reflecting infrared light.
Webb’s Place in Space
Webb doesn’t orbit Earth, as Hubble does. Instead, it sits four times the distance of the Earth to the Moon away from us, on the opposite side to the sun. This point is called Lagrange Point 2 (L2) and it’s where the tidal pull of the Earth and sun combine to create a stable point of gravitational balance.
Although Webb was designed to last a decade, the accuracy of its December 2021 launch and trajectory was so successful that much propellant was saved. Engineers now expect Webb to last much more than 10 years.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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