After its launch into space in September 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope has undergone a series of tests to fully calibrate its 6.5-meter primary mirror and its four detection devices. It has taken months before James Webb gave us the first image without a primary target whose mission was to test that all its devices were working properly. Now after ten months of waiting, the James Webb is finally ready to reveal its first images of deep space and the result is simply amazing.
The Webb Space Telescope brings with it great hopes for uncovering new mysteries of the deep universe and a result, breakthroughs in science that will help us decipher new hypotheses about the composition of the cosmos. The large space observer is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
The first images from the James Webb
The dawn of a new era in astronomy is about to begin as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope. Equipped with a total of four cameras and spectrographs including a near- and mid-infrared spectrograph, a near-infrared imager, and the slitless spectrograph. In addition to its powerful main mirror that measures a total of 6.5 meters and is divided into 18 segments that have so far proven to have high power to capture the most impressive details.
Prior to the launch of the James Webb Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope was the most powerful observer available to mankind. With a 2.4-meter main mirror, it gave us the sharpest images of space that allowed astrophysicists to make important discoveries such as theories of the existence of dark energy and dark matter, as well as to establish the age of the Universe with greater precision. Below you can see an image taken by Hubble in 2017 showing a cluster of galaxies that allows us to establish a point of comparison with the new Webb images.
Now, finally, after months of waiting NASA has posted the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope on its website and they have exceeded all expectations. Keep scrolling down to admire the sharpest images of deep space that mankind has yet been able to observe.
Cluster of galaxies
Exoplanet WASP-96-b
Nebula with two stars in the center
Stephan’s Quintet
Story originally published in Ecoosfera
