Science The Webb Space Telescope is 100x as powerful as the Hubble. It will change astronomy.

Shaboid · Jun 1, 2022

First Images From NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Coming Soon

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on July 12, 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to its space environment and aligning its mirrors. This careful process, not to mention years of new technology development and mission planning, has built up to the first images and data: a demonstration of Webb at its full power, ready to begin its science mission and unfold the infrared universe.

“As we near the end of preparing the observatory for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our universe. The release of Webb’s first full-color images will offer a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a view humanity has never seen before,” said Eric Smith, Webb program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “These images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent, and dreams – but they will also be just the beginning.”

Behind the Scenes: Creating Webb’s First Images

Deciding what Webb should look at first has been a project more than five years in the making, undertaken by an international partnership between NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, home to Webb’s science and mission operations.

“Our goals for Webb’s first images and data are both to showcase the telescope’s powerful instruments and to preview the science mission to come,” said astronomer Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist at STScI. “They are sure to deliver a long-awaited ‘wow’ for astronomers and the public.”

Once each of Webb’s instruments has been calibrated, tested, and given the green light by its science and engineering teams, the first images and spectroscopic observations will be made. The team will proceed through a list of targets that have been preselected and prioritized by an international committee to exercise Webb’s powerful capabilities. Then the production team will receive the data from Webb’s instrument scientists and process it into images for astronomers and the public.

“I feel very privileged to be a part of it,” said Alyssa Pagan, a science visuals developer at STScI. “Typically, the process from raw telescope data to final, clean image that communicates scientific information about the universe can take anywhere from weeks to a month,” Pagan said.

What Will We See?

While careful planning for Webb’s first full-color images has been underway for a long time, the new telescope is so powerful that it is difficult to predict exactly how the first images will look. “Of course, there are things we are expecting and hoping to see, but with a new telescope and this new high-resolution infrared data, we just won’t know until we see it,” said STScI’s lead science visuals developer Joseph DePasquale.

Early alignment imagery has already demonstrated the unprecedented sharpness of Webb’s infrared view. However, these new images will be the first in full color and the first to showcase Webb’s full science capabilities. In addition to imagery, Webb will be capturing spectroscopic data – detailed information astronomers can read in light. The first images package of materials will highlight the science themes that inspired the mission and will be the focus of its work: the early universe, the evolution of galaxies through time, the lifecycle of stars, and other worlds. All of Webb’s commissioning data – the data taken while aligning the telescope and preparing the instruments – will also be made publicly available.

What’s Next?

Science! After capturing its first images, Webb’s scientific observations will begin, continuing to explore the mission’s key science themes. Teams have already applied through a competitive process for time to use the telescope, in what astronomers call its first “cycle,” or first year of observations. Observations are carefully scheduled to make the most efficient use of the telescope’s time.

These observations mark the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations – the work it was designed to do. Astronomers will use Webb to observe the infrared universe, analyze the data collected, and publish scientific papers on their discoveries.

Beyond what is already planned for Webb, there are the unexpected discoveries astronomers can’t anticipate. One example: In 1990 when the Hubble Space Telescope launched, dark energy was completely unknown. Now it is one of the most exciting areas of astrophysics. What will Webb discover?

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.
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Shaboid · Jun 29, 2022

NASA Invites Media, Public to View Webb Telescope’s First Images

Natebishop3 · Jul 11, 2022

https://gizmodo.com/biden-to-reveal-first-full-color-image-webb-telescope-n-1849163898

In an unexpected twist, President Joe Biden will reveal the first full-color image from the Webb Space Telescope at the White House today at 5 p.m. ET. The much-anticipated release of the rest of the images remains scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET tomorrow, and a live stream of Biden’s comments later today can be found here.

If you’re just joining the saga of the Webb telescope, the spacecraft has already taken a number of images since it arrived at its destination point a million miles away in space, a gravitationally favorable place called L2. But those images have been test shots, to make sure that Webb’s mirrors are properly aligned and that its instruments are in working order.
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julius · Jul 11, 2022

Maybe he found it on hunters laptop

ABM · Jul 11, 2022

Biden's attempt to show he's actually connected in to something. I'm certain this was his handlers' idea.

Shaboid · Jul 11, 2022

I'm sure any president would do this but Joe is really stealing the spotlight here. NASA has had their announcements scheduled for a very long time. Whatever, I just want to see the images!

Phatguysrule · Jul 11, 2022

Yeah, this is a very cheap attempt by Biden and his handlers.

It just comes off as fake.

Road Ratt · Jul 11, 2022

I am assuming the image will reveal Biden's birth certificate.

EL PRESIDENTE · Jul 11, 2022

Here's footage from the press conference:

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

I have no problem with Biden revealing the pictures. The president doing it takes it from being nice story mentioned in the news to a live event. And honestly, NASA can use the positive attention.

e_blazer · Jul 11, 2022

It would be great if he showed an enlarged view of our solar system and said, “We were able to peer back in time 76 years and, if you look closely, you can just make out infant Donald Trump’s head as it emerges from a horse’s ass.”

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

'We’re looking back more than 13 billion years': President Biden shares image from almost the beginning of the universe taken by $10BN 'time machine' James Webb Space Telescope

President Joe Biden released the first ever image from James Webb Space Telescope of a stunning cluster of galaxies about 4 billion light-years from Earth

'These images are going to remind the world that America can do big things and remind our children that there’s nothing beyond our capacity,' Biden said

'You’re seeing galaxies that are shining around other galaxies who’s light has been bent and you’re seeing just a small little portion of the universe. We’re looking back more than 13 billion years.'

This galaxy cluster has a gravitational pull so powerful that it can warp both space-time and the path that light subsequently travels through it

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...-Space-Telescopes-image-cluster-galaxies.html

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

This deep field, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totaling 12.5 hours – achieving depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope’s deepest fields, which took weeks.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/...livers-deepest-infrared-image-of-universe-yet

theprunetang · Jul 11, 2022

Road Ratt said: ↑

I am assuming the image will reveal Biden's birth certificate.
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Solid burn. Have to admit.

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

SlyPokerDog said: ↑

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Hubble of the same area.

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

SlyPokerDog · Jul 11, 2022

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Science The Webb Space Telescope is 100x as powerful as the Hubble. It will change astronomy.

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Science The Webb Space Telescope is 100x as powerful as the Hubble. It will change astronomy.

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