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We talk about new photographs sent to Earth by the largest telescope in the world “James Webb”
What is “James Webb”
James Webb is the largest and most powerful telescope in history. Scientists from the US, European and Canadian space agencies have been working on it for 25 years. The device cost $ 10 billion. It is named after the head of NASA in 1961-1968, James Webb, who was responsible for the implementation of the Apollo manned space flight program.
The launch of the telescope into space was postponed several times due to technical problems, a pandemic and bad weather. As a result, “James Webb” left the Earth on December 25, 2021. He went to the second Lagrange point (L2), which is located at a distance of 1,5 million km from his home planet. In this region, the gravitational fields of the Sun and the Earth cancel each other out, which allows the vehicle to remain stationary without wasting fuel. On January 24, 2022, the telescope successfully reached this position.
James Webb studies distant objects in the universe, including the first galaxies whose light is only now reaching the Lagrange point. This light is shifted to the red spectrum, which is captured using infrared equipment – a special NIRCam camera. In addition, the apparatus has a 6,5 m wide mirror. It consists of 18 beryllium segments. Each of them is covered with a layer of gold 100 nanometers thick. This metal was chosen because of its ability to reflect infrared rays. This is what the telescope managed to capture in eight months of operation.
Kiel Nebula
In July 2022, the James Webb Telescope sent back a photograph of the NGC 3324 region in the Carina Nebula. For the first time in history, mankind has received an image of previously invisible parts of our galaxy, in which new stars are forming. The landscape looks like mountains against the background of the night sky. It is actually the edge of a gaseous trough within NGC 3324. It has been separated from the rest of the nebula by strong ultraviolet stellar winds from new stars. They are located in the center of the region, above the photographed area.
The Stefan Quintet
Another July discovery by James Webb was Stephen’s Quintet, a group of five galaxies in the constellation Pegasus. The telescope showed previously unseen details – some stars flare at birth, while others, young ones, sparkle brightly in groups. As a result of gravitational interaction, tails of gas, dust and stars are pulled out of several galaxies. James Webb also captured huge shock waves. They are formed due to the fact that one of the galaxies crashes into the rest.
Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132)
Another photograph sent in July shows the planetary nebula “Southern Ring”. It is located at a distance of about 2,5 thousand light years from Earth. The dimmer star at the center of this scene has emitted rings of gas and dust in all directions over thousands of years. The telescope for the first time showed that she herself was covered with dust.
Galaxy cluster SMACS 0723
This photo became the deepest and clearest infrared image of the universe in history. The image was presented by US President Joe Biden on July 11, 2022. “James Webb” shows a massive cluster of galaxies in the constellation of the Flying Fish as it was 4,6 billion years ago. The earth did not yet exist.
Cart Wheel
In early August, “James Webb” sent a picture of the Cartwheel Galaxy. It lies 500 million light-years from Earth and features two rings that give it a less common structure than spiral galaxies (the Milky Way is one of them). It used to be the same, but about 200 million years ago it collided with another galaxy. A powerful shock wave passed through it, which raised gas and dust up. This created additional regions of star formation, leading to the formation of rings.
Jupiter
On August 22, 2022, “James Webb” sent detailed images of Jupiter. They show the auroras, which are a thousand times stronger than the earth. In addition, raging winds are noticeable. The large spot in the photo is a storm that is so huge that it could swallow the Earth. In photographs, it appears white due to the fact that it reflects the sun’s rays.
Spiral galaxy M74
In the last days of August, James Webb captured a galaxy in the constellation Pisces. It is located 32 million light years from Earth. Scientists call its shape “grand” because the spiral arms are prominent and well-defined, unlike many of the irregular structures in other galaxies. In them, the telescope was able to photograph the thin filaments of gas and dust surrounding the nuclear star cluster in the center.