Finally we have clues as to what the first operational images of NASA’s deep space observatory will be.
Among the first images to arrive from the $ 10 billion James Webb space telescope will be “the deepest image of our universe ever taken,” according to NASA administrator Bill Nelson.
Although he did not specify which objects in the early universe Webb will focus on, nor how old these targets are, Nelson suggested that the image show the oldest objects that have been seen so far. “This is further than humanity has ever looked at before, and we are just beginning to understand what Webb can and will do,” he added.
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Webb’s new image could replace the Hubble Space Telescope’s series of deep image fields showing galaxies in our universe formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, which took place about 13.7 billion years ago. ‘years.
Nelson was speaking at a media event at the Baltimore Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages Webb’s operations. NASA used the media event to discuss the upcoming release of Webb operational images on July 12 along with the range of sciences the observatory will conduct early in its term, including solar system objects, exoplanets, the early universe and a series of intermediate goals.
Another image that will arrive that day will be the first spectrum of a Webb exoplanet, according to Thomas Zurbuchen, associate director of the direction of NASA’s scientific mission, who spoke at the same event. These spectra, which measure the amount of light emitted at certain wavelengths, often provide clues to a planet’s chemistry, which point to its history of formation.
A comparison of the views of the same part of the sky seen by NASA’s retired Spitzer space telescope and the recent launch of the James Webb space telescope. (Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech (left), NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI (right))
“Will we look at these worlds that keep us awake at night, while we look at the starry sky and wonder … is there life elsewhere?” Zurbuchen said of the milestone. (Webb, however, is optimized to look at large gas giant planets and probably won’t be able to get too much information from rocky worlds that could host life as we know it, based on past consortium information.)
The first NASA scientific quality images from the observatory will be released on July 12 at 10:30 am EDT (14:30 GMT) and will be broadcast live here on Space.com along with the NASA website and social media channels. (Some Webb partners have also engaged in web events or broadcasts, such as the Canadian Space Agency).
Webb is completing verification of its four scientific instruments to operate after launch into space on December 25, 2021.
You can follow the “marking” list of instruments on NASA’s “Where’s Webb” website (opens in a new tab). The full list of Webb’s first cycle of observations is available on this website (opens in a new tab) from the Baltimore Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages Webb’s operations.
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