NASA has released the first set of full-color images acquired by the revolutionary $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, the cosmic showcase of colliding galaxies, a dying star falling layer by layer, a glorious stellar nursery and the intriguing signs of water vapor and clouds on a giant planet orbiting around A distant star, according to the Reuters news agency website
The telescope appears to be more powerful than people who dreamed of it had hoped. It is able to see the depths of space and time far beyond the acclaimed Hubble, collecting the exquisitely faint infrared light emitted by the first stars and galaxies more than 13 billion years ago.
While NASA revealed the first batch of full-color images sent by the James Webb Space Telescope to Earth, NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Space Telescope Science Institute set the initial goals to demonstrate the capabilities of JWST, which include the Carina Nebula, the Southern Ring, SMACS 0723 and WASP- 96b and Stephan’s Quintet.
The first image detected today was of the Southern Ring Nebula, which is about 2,500 light-years away and was captured by JWST’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Medium Infrared (MIRI) instrument, according to an engadged report.
The visible image was compiled from about 1,000 image files, and the image covers an area of the sky equal to about one-fifth the diameter of the moon as seen from Earth.
And the final JWST image revealed today is also amazing, and it depicts the “cosmic slopes” of the Carina Nebula, which is about 7,600 light-years away and has stars several times larger than the Sun. Not visible yet.
The telescope gives us a rare look at stars in the early stages of their formation, a period of 50,000 to 100,000 years for a single star nearby, and the highest peaks of these cliffs are about seven light-years high and that’s only 42 trillion miles or so.
NASA says it’s the most detailed spectrum of exoplanets ever captured and that Webb detected an “unmistakable signature of water,” as well as indications of haze and clouds, which were not previously thought to be on WASP-96b.
The Webb project has been a long and difficult journey full of dangers, but it has produced stunning images that the space agency and its international partners are eager to share with the world.
Hundreds of people — scientists, engineers, and members of Congress — gathered in an auditorium at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the big reveal. Goddard’s apprentices waved their pompom costumes and cheered as the dignitaries entered the room. NASA put on a live show, broadcast largely from a nearby studio, but with an international flavor, featuring scientists in Canada and Europe and interrupted briefly to watch concerts by space buffs across the planet.
Project manager Bill Ochs was relieved, saying before the party started, “I’ve always expected to have some little problems — things that come with time and bite you.”