The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope will arrive soon, and scientists can’t wait to see them.
On Wednesday (June 29), NASA held a media conference at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore ahead of the release of the first scientific-quality images of the James Webb Space Telescopewhich will take place during a live event on July 12th. NASA scientists and administrators gave updates on the telescope, discussed Webb’s planned science during its first year in operation, and hinted at the contents of some of the first official Webb images.
“In a real sense, we are the first users of the observatory and we use it for what it is built on,” Klaus Pontoppidan, a Webb project scientist at STScI, said during the Press conference. “We recognize that we are on the shoulders of all the scientists and engineers who have worked hard over the last six months to make this possible.”
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Although NASA has already published it a few pictures taken while align Webb, the images published on July 12 will be from a fully operational, full-color observatory, and will show what each of the telescope’s instruments can bring to science.
These first images will include a deep field image looking farther than ever into the past, the scientists said during the briefing. NASA will also publish Webb’s first spectroscopic data: accurate data on the type of light Webb detects that will allow scientists to learn more about the ingredients of distant cosmic objects. These data will include the first spectrum of a Webb exoplanet, the scientists said. While the images will be visually spectacular, the new information they reveal through Webb’s infrared observation powers it will distinguish them from images taken by other telescopes.
“The real difference is the new scientific information and then really opening up the longer wavelengths, the infrared wavelengths in a way we’ve never seen before,” said Jonathon Gardner, assistant senior scientist at the Webb project, during the press conference.
Each of the four instruments at Webb, including its main camera, two near-infrared spectrographs and a medium-sized camera and infrared spectrograph, will contribute to remarkable research in its first year of operation. They will collect data at almost every scale and time scale, from ours solar system today at the birth of ours universe. Although scientists can detect radiation from near the beginning of our universe, no telescope has ever been able to detect the light of some of the first stars and galaxies in the universe. Webb will be the first such observatory.
“The initial goal of this mission was to see the first stars and galaxies,” Eric Smith, a scientist on NASA’s Webb program, said during the press conference. “It’s not the first light in the universe, but seeing the universe turn on the lights for the first time.”
While Webb is already a remarkable feat, his first images represent the beginning of long-awaited decades of science. Webb scientists said they have confirmed that the telescope has enough fuel to carry out science the next 20 years. The data collected during these years could redefine how we understand our universe.
“This is really just the beginning,” Pontoppidan said. “We’re just scratching the surface.”
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