Modern astronomy is about to undergo an unprecedented transformation with the launch
of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
JWST has been operating since March after it was launched on December 25, 2021,
and offers incredible views of the universe that we have not been able to see before.
Like the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST is already in space,
so it can take pictures in stunning detail without the distortions of Earth's atmosphere.
While Hubble orbits the Earth at an altitude of 540 km, the new telescope is a million and a half km away.
distance, far beyond the Moon.
In this distant position, it is free from the interference of our planet's reflected heat
and can collect light from all over the Universe, reaching the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
This capability, combined with the telescope's larger mirror, state-of-the-art detectors,
and many other technological advances, allows astronomers to look back to the earliest ages of the universe.
As it expands, light from distant objects shifts from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum into the infrared.
The telescope has been able to study such light sources since the earliest times, nearly 14 billion years ago.
The Hubble Telescope, for its part, continues to be a great scientific instrument
and can observe optical wavelengths that the web cannot.
However, the new telescope can see much further into the infrared spectrum with greater sensitivity and sharpness.
In this video, we take a look at ten of the most stunning images captured so far by James Webb
that demonstrate the incredible capabilities of this new window into the universe and our understanding of it.
CONSCIOUSNESS
Fitting the mirrors
Because of its incredible complexity and the millions invested in it,
the new telescope required a lot of testing to ensure it would function properly once it was launched
and deployed in the cold, dark space.
One of the biggest challenges was getting the 18 hexagonal mirror segments to unfold
and align to a fraction of the wavelength of light.
In March, NASA released the first image centered on a star from the fully aligned mirrors.
Although it was just an image used to calibrate the space observatory,
astronomers were excited to immediately compare it to previous pictures of this patch of sky.
Spitzer v. MIRI
This image, captured while the camera was in focus, clearly shows the large difference in data quality between
JWST and its predecessors.
At left is the image from the Spitzer Telescope, a space-based infrared observatory with an 85-centimeter mirror;
right - the same field from Webb's MIRI mid-infrared camera equipped with a 6.5-meter mirror.
With a naked eye, we immediately notice the difference in the quality of the resolution
and the ability to detect much fainter sources.
We observe the incredible amount of galaxies now visible that were previously lost in the noise of the Spitzer image.
The first image of a galaxy cluster
Color images of the nearby galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327 taken by the new telescope were selected
as the first public image presented by the telescope.
The field is crowded with galaxies of all shapes and colors.
The combined mass of this huge galaxy cluster, more than 4 billion light-years across,
bends space in such a way that light from distant background sources is stretched and magnified,
an effect known as gravitational lensing.
The JWST image on the right reveals more detail than the Hubble image on the left,
including hundreds of faint or red galaxies that were previously undetected.
These distorted background galaxies are clearly visible as lines and arcs throughout the image.
Stefan's Quintet
These images show a spectacular group of galaxies known as the Stefan's Quintet,
a group that has long been of interest to astronomers
studying the way colliding galaxies interact with each other gravitationally.
On the left, we see the Hubble view, and on the right the JWST mid-infrared view.
The inset shows the power of the new telescope with a magnification of a small background galaxy.
In the Hubble image we see some bright star-forming regions,
but only with JWST does it reveal the complete structure of this and surrounding galaxies.
The Pillars of Creation
The image of the so-called Pillars of Creation is one of the most famous images of all time in astronomy,
taken by Hubble in 1995. It demonstrates the extraordinary reach of the space telescope.
The image depicts a star-forming region in the Eagle Nebula, also known as M16,
where interstellar gas and dust provide the backdrop to a stellar nursery teeming with newborn stars.
The image to the right, taken with JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam),
further demonstrates the benefits of infrared astronomy with the ability to peer through the shroud
of dust and see what lies within and beyond.
The protostar Hourglass
This image is another act of galactic creation in the Milky Way.
This structure is a cloud of dust and gas surrounding a star in the process of formation - called L1527.
The only thing visible in the infrared is the "accretion disk" of infalling material. This is the black bar in the center.
It will eventually allow the protostar to accumulate enough mass to start fusing hydrogen and thus create a new star.
Meanwhile, light from the still-forming star illuminates the gas above and below the disk and creates the hourglass shape.
Our previous view of this came from Spitzer (beam); the amount of detail is again a huge leap forward.
Infrared Jupiter
This is an image of Jupiter taken in the infrared part of the spectrum.
The Webb Telescope takes pictures of the most distant galaxies in the universe, but it can also look a little closer to home.
Although JWST cannot look at Earth or the inner planets of the Solar System—because it must always look in a direction
other than the Sun—it can do so at the more distant parts of our Solar System.
The near-infrared image of Jupiter shown is a beautiful example of this.
It allows us to peer deep into the structure of the gas giant's clouds and storms.
The brilliance of the aurora borealis at both the north and south poles is also seen.
This image was extremely difficult to achieve because of Jupiter's rapid motion relative to the stars
and its rapid rotation.
The Webb telescope's ability to track difficult astronomical objects was demonstrated once again
with this successful photograph.
"The Phantom Galaxy"
These images of the so-called Phantom Galaxy, or M74, reveal the power of James Webb not only as the latest
and greatest of astronomical instruments but also as a valuable addition to to the arsenal of astrologists.
The middle image here combines visible light from Hubble with infrared from Webb,
allowing us to see how the starlight, gas, and dust together shape this remarkable galaxy.
The new instrument's research is designed to be combined with Hubble's optical views
and other images so that scientists can take full advantage of this principle.
A galaxy far, far away
Although this galaxy - the small red spot on the right side of the image - is not among the most picturesque
that our universe has to offer, it is just as interesting from a research point of view.
This snapshot is from when the universe was only 350 million years old, making it one of the first galaxies ever to form.
Understanding how galaxies like our Milky Way, formed 13 billion years later, grow and merge is crucial.
However, this topic is still shrouded in many question marks, which makes findings like this extremely important.
No other telescope can provide this view. A Hubble image of this galaxy will appear blank
because the galaxy's light is stretched far into the infrared due to the expansion of the universe.
Giant mosaic from Abell 2744
This image is a mosaic of many separate images stitched together, centered on the giant galaxy cluster Abell 2744,
colloquially known as the Pandora Cluster.
The sheer number and variety of sources that JWST can detect is mind-boggling.
In fact, except for a few stars in the foreground, each remaining speck of light represents an entirely separate galaxy.
In just one small part of the dark sky, there are thousands of galaxies that remind us of the vast scale of the universe.
Professionals and amateurs alike can spend hours staring at this image in search of various anomalies and mysteries.
In the coming years, JWST's ability to look so deep
and far back into the universe will allow us to answer many questions about how we came to be.
Equally exciting are the discoveries and questions we cannot yet foresee.
Looking as far back and as far as this new telescope allows us, we are sure to find many things that will surprise us.
If you liked this video, you may find more in our playlist titled Cosmos.
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