Space telescope produces dazzling images
NASA on Tuesday released the first set of full-color images and data obtained by the revolutionary $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which so far has shown itself far more powerful, and able to see further into the depths of space and time, than the acclaimed Hubble.
Hundreds of people – scientists, engineers, members of Congress – gathered in an auditorium at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for the big reveal. It was a spirited scene, replete with Goddard interns waving pompoms and cheering as VIPs entered the room.
NASA had already identified the five initial “targets”:
Wasp-96 b: This is a giant planet, maybe half the size of Jupiter, that circles a star 1,150 light-years from Earth. An instrument on the telescope has obtained the spectra of the planet, a scientifically important feat because it can reveal the composition of the exoplanet’s atmosphere.
Southern Ring Nebula: Located about 2,000 light-years away, the nebula is a gas cloud surrounding a dying star.
Stephan’s Quintet: Five beguiling galaxies include four in a cluster about 290 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. The quintet had been observed by the Hubble, and the new image will allow a side-by-side comparison of what the two space telescopes see in different wavelengths.
Carina Nebula: The nebula is packed with stars, including the ultraluminous star system Eta Carinae. Situated roughly 7,500 light-years from Earth, within our own Milky Way galaxy, the nebula is visible from the Southern Hemisphere.
SMACS 0723: This galaxy cluster functions as a massive lens, magnifying faint and cosmically distant objects behind it.