A day before the long-awaited announcement by the US Space Agency (NASA) about the unpublished records of the James Webb super telescope, a statement direct from the White House in Washington left thousands of people connected in a live on Monday night (12),
“This is an exciting new chapter in exploring the Universe,” said US Vice President Kamala Harris as she began a short speech.
It was followed by President Joe Biden’s ”This Is a Historic Day”, as it showed the first color image of the deepest moment in the Universe: a galaxy cluster known as SMACS 0723, 4.6 billion years ago.
Also accompanied by NASA manager Bill Nelson, the authorities highlighted the international cooperation with European and Canadian space agencies and the importance of investments in science. Although anticipated by the White House, this Tuesday (12), NASA will explain in detail the first images obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope, which is located at point L2, a distance of 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. According to the agency, such images reveal “unprecedented views” rich in detail of the Universe.
The dissemination of the images will be broadcast live, starting at 11:30 am (Brasília time), by NASA, as well as through the agency’s social networks. Images will also be made available on agency website.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the result of a partnership between the North American (NASA) and European (ESA) space agencies. Its main feature is the capture of infrared radiation.
The expectation is that this observatory will allow researchers to observe the formation of the first galaxies and stars. In addition to studying the evolution of galaxies, researchers will also be able to observe the production of elements by stars and the processes of star and planet formation.
mysteries
The expectation is that, in addition to solving mysteries of our solar system, it will look at distant worlds around other stars and investigate the mysterious structures and origins of the Universe, helping Human Beings to better understand their own planet as well.
According to NASA, the first wave of images, selected by an international committee, cover two nebulae (Carina and the Southern Ring), an exoplanet (Wasp-96 b); and two galaxy clusters (Stephan’s Quintet and Smacs 0723 clusters).
Meet the first celestial bodies observed by James Webb, described by NASA itself:
Carina Nebula:
It is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun.
WASP-96 b:
Giant planet outside our solar system, composed mostly of gas. Located about 1,150 light-years from Earth, this planet orbits its star every 3.4 days. It is about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014.
South Ring Nebula:
Also known as the “Eight-Burst” nebula, it is a planetary nebula – an expanding cloud of gas, enveloping a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and located approximately 2,000 light-years away from Earth.
Stephan’s Quintet:
It is located about 290 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. It was the first compact group of galaxies discovered in 1877. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are caught in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters.
SMACS 0723:
Massive foreground clusters of galaxies that magnify and distort light from objects behind them, allowing deep-field view into populations of extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxies.
James Webb
NASA explains that, in order to carry out the intended studies, with “unprecedented sensitivity”, the observatory must be kept cool, free from large sources of infrared interference caused by celestial bodies such as the Sun, Earth and Moon.
To block sources of infrared radiation, James Webb will have a “large metallized collapsible sun shield” to be opened in space. Its mirror is about 6.5 meters in diameter.
In order to observe the most distant areas, the James Webb will have, in its modules, equipment that is sensitive to infrared radiation: a camera, spectrograph and other instruments to analyze the infrared emitted by the sources targeted by it. It will also have a module responsible for transporting collected data, in addition to the optical telescope.
Homage
The name chosen for the new space telescope is a tribute to a former NASA administrator. James Edwin Webb. It was he who led the Apollo program, as well as a number of other important space missions.
