US President Joe Biden has revealed the first full-color scientific image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful observatory ever launched into space. Last week, NASA pinpointed the five targets for the telescope’s first scientific work, and this is the first of them: the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 located 4.2 billion light-years away from us, in the deepest infrared image of the universe to date.
JWST’s stunning eye will peer deeper into the universe than any previous observatory , which means we’ll be peering into the past, at the earliest galaxies and stars in the cosmos.
One such gravitational lens it will use is precisely SMACS 0723 , a cluster of galaxies known for its incredible mass, with its central galaxy weighing 358 billion times the mass of our Sun. It is a perfect lens for galaxies that existed long ago. 13.5 billion years old, visible in the image as arcs or multiple images of the same galaxy.
At this afternoon’s press conference, the US space agency will show and publish the four remaining images that will cover all aspects of the observatory’s science topics. But this is just the beginning.
Webb’s 5 Image Goals:
WASP-96b
This planet is about half the mass of Jupiter, but larger. It is mainly composed of an atmosphere.
Carina Nebula
It is a large cloud of gas that lights up thanks to the massive stars that form inside it. Here is the most luminous star identified within the Milky Way.
SMACS 0723
A cluster of massive galaxies in the early universe and the subject of the first snapshot released by President Biden.
Stephan’s Quintet
An area discovered in the 19th century in which several galaxies accumulate: specifically a group of 5 galaxies that we find in just 4 minutes of arc in the Pegasus constellation.
South Ring Nebula
It is a planetary nebula created in the aftermath of the explosion of an ancient massive star. Also known as NGC 3132, it is located in the constellation Vela.
