Biden, in a direct NASA, showed the first photo taken by the James Webb space telescope: this is why a journey to the borders of time and space
The first photo chosen to show the extraordinary capabilities of the new James Webb Space Telescope the distant group of galaxies known as SMACS 0723. The American president is proud Joe Biden showed it to guests at the White House with an unexpected change of plans. Officially, NASA had planned to release the first images on 12 July but the president, to underline the exceptional result, preferred to anticipate with a personal intervention by choosing the galactic group. Not by chance. The preference is linked to the fact that it allows you to show the exceptionality of the instrument.
SMACS 0723 5 billion light years away is a cluster of galaxies that works like a lens thanks to the gravitational force expressed by its mass making other stars see further away. And both the cluster and the world hidden behind are now visible in a detail that was previously impossible, revealing precisely the power of the new telescope that looks at the most remote sky in infrared radiation.
The mission and objectives
Astronomers from NASA, ESA, the Canadian space agency together with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore where scientists govern research with large space telescopes, had chosen five preferential goals. These were the Carina Nebula, a nurseries 7,600 light years away from Earth where new stars are constantly forming, the giant planet WASP-96b discovered in 2014 at 1,150 light years from Earth, the Southern Ring planetary nebula which looks like a ring of gas around a dead star, the group of galaxies Stephan’s Quintet in the constellation of Pegasus characterized by strange movements and finally there was SMACS 0723, the group of galaxies farthest away that ultimately turned out to be the favorite.
Costs and technology
The big 10 billion dollar space venture that came to fruition after years of delays and skyrocketing costs finally proves its worth. Webb launched on Christmas Day has traveled for months to reach its point from Earth one million and half kilometers where he will be able to scan the universe without the disturbance of our planet. And from here look farther with a capacity one hundred times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope of which the successor.
After more than two months of preparation he finally collected the first images, overcoming without damage even the thrill of some meteoric impact. And peering into the untouched depths he will look beyond galaxies focusing on the planets around other stars, perhaps picking up clues related to life. Tomorrow NASA will show the other photos as she had planned.
July 12, 2022 (change July 12, 2022 | 12:34)
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