NASA exaggerated the event James Webb Space Telescope with another impressive test photo just before the big gala to showcase the first full color images of the observatory.
The US space agency revealed on Thursday a new image from the Thin Orientation Sensor, one of the giant infrared telescope’s instruments. NASA casually shared the picture via social media to demonstrate Webb’s power and clarity: an almost unimaginably deep view of the universe in red monochrome.
The surprise teaser comes just six days earlier than planned by the agency and its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. distribute the first batch Despite NASA administrator Bill Nelson’s announcement that the cache will contain the deepest image of the universe ever taken, this image – just Engineering testing of Webb’s Precision Orientation Sensor – already breaking the current record for the farthest infrared view of the cosmos, scientists said.
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To some people, new snaps (at the top of this story) might not seem like much of a smack – at best, it could be sesame seeds on a hamburger bun or squashed mosquitoes on a car windshield. But what they’re looking at is the abyss: Behind a handful of bright stars with huge dots of light are galaxies filled with solar systems.
That’s right: Each of these little blemishes can contain: hundreds of billions stars and planets. According to the telescope team, there are thousands of faint galaxies within this single frame, most of them in the distant, early universe. In astronomy, looking away means observing the past because it takes longer for light and other forms of radiation to reach us.
Feeling small yet?
As Jane Rigby, a project scientist at NASA, once said during early calibration tests The observatory’s description: “There’s no way Webb could look anywhere in the sky and not go down incredibly deep.”
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This is correct in this example. The main job of Precision Orientation Sensor is, Built by Canadapointing and clinging to cosmic goals. Taking pictures is just a bonus feature. When the picture was taken, engineers were testing the telescope’s ability to “roll to one side like an airplane in flight, lock onto a star and roll.” NASA announced on a blog. This could trigger an image soon. Top Gun: Maverick moviegoers.
The image is the result of 72 exposures layered over 32 hours. The ragged edges of the photo are due to overlapping squares, according to the post.
“There’s no way Webb could look at any point in the sky and not go down incredibly deep.”
Webb launched into space christmas morning six months ago it will observe some of the oldest, weakest lights in the universe. Astronomers predict that Webb’s science will usher in a golden age in our understanding of the universe.
Strong $10 billion infrared telescope It will examine less than 300 million years after the Big Bang, when most of the first stars and galaxies were born. Scientists will also use it to study the atmospheres of other worlds. For example, discoveries of water and methane, some of the main components of life, could be signs of potential life-friendly environments.
The powerful $10 billion infrared James Webb Space Telescope will study less than 300 million years from the Big Bang, when most of the first stars and galaxies were born.
Credit: NASA
NASA officials stressed Thursday that the test shot was still “rough around the edges” and wouldn’t hold a candle to its quality. Images coming soon on July 12. This is not full color and they said it would not meet the standard required for scientific analysis.
Engineers adjusted the data and red filter, to show the contrast, just like the previous test images. The sharp hexagonal spikes emanating from the stars are the result of Webb’s pieces of hexagonal mirrors. This affects the way light travels, causing diffraction.
According to the Webb team, holes appear to have been drilled in the centers of the stars, this feature will not be available in future photos. Engineers said the holes were there because there was no “vibration” in the poses.
According to NASA, “Flicker is the slight repositioning of the telescope between each exposure”. “The centers of bright stars appear black because they saturate Webb’s detectors, and the telescope’s orientation did not change over exposures to capture the center from different pixels in the camera’s detectors.”
Upcoming images and scientific data will be released from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland during a broadcast event that begins July 12 at 10:30 a.m. ET. people can watch live stream NASA television.
