Webb's First Deep Field
Webb's First Deep Field is the first
Background
The James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope operated by NASA and designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. Launched in December 2021, the spacecraft has been in a halo orbit around the second Sun–Earth Lagrange point (L2), about 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 mi) from Earth, since January 2022. At L2, the gravitational pull of the Sun combines with the gravitational pull of the Earth to produce an orbital period that matches Earth's, and the Earth and Sun remain co-aligned (as seen from that point) as the Earth and the spacecraft orbit the Sun together.[2]
Webb's First Deep Field was taken by the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and is a composite produced from images at different wavelengths, totalling 12.5 hours of exposure time.[3][4]
Scientific results
The image shows the galaxy cluster
The combined mass of the galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying and distorting the images of much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb's NIRCam brought the distant galaxies into sharp focus, revealing tiny, faint structures that had never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features.[3]
Diffraction spikes in the photo
The six bright and two fainter spikes around the point sources of light in the photo are an
The two additional spikes are a result of diffraction from the struts holding the telescope's secondary mirror in front of the main mirror. As shown in the figure on the right, diffraction from the three struts creates six spikes, but four of these are designed to co-align with the spikes created from the diffraction caused by the rim. This leaves the two faint horizontal spikes visible in the photo.[10]
Significance
Deepest image of the Universe
On July 12, 2022, JWST delivered the deepest sharp infrared image of the universe to date.[11] Webb's First Deep Field is the first full false-color image from the JWST,[12] and the highest-resolution infrared view of the universe yet captured.[11] The image reveals thousands of galaxies in a tiny sliver of the universe, with Webb's sharp near-infrared view bringing out faint structures in extremely distant galaxies, offering the most detailed view of the early universe to date. Thousands of galaxies, which include the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared, have appeared in Webb's view for the first time.[13][3]
It was first revealed to the public during an event on 11 July 2022 by U.S. President Joe Biden.[2]
Comparison with the Hubble Space Telescope
The following images are a comparison with the image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and the image taken by Webb of the same galaxy cluster.
See also
References
- ^ "Webb's First Deep Field (NIRSpec MSA Emission Spectra)". WebbTelescope.org. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ^ from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d Garner, Rob (11 July 2022). "NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Webb's first deep field". European Space Agency. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "SRELICS". IRAS. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Isaacs-Thomas, Isabella (11 July 2022). "Here's the deepest, clearest infrared image of the universe ever produced". PBS. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- .
- ISSN 1745-3925.
- ^ Williams, Matt (19 March 2022). "Wondering About the 6 Rays Coming out of JWST's Test Image? Here's why They Happen". Universe Today. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Webb's Diffraction Spikes".
- ^ a b Garner, Rob (11 July 2022). "NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet". NASA. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ Strickland, Ashley (11 July 2022). "President Biden reveals the James Webb Space Telescope's stunning first image". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Chow, Denise (11 July 2022). "The Webb telescope's first full-color photo is here – and it's stunning". NBC News. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Garner, Rob (11 July 2022). "NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet". NASA. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Overbye, Dennis; Chang, Kenneth; Tankersley, Jim (11 July 2022). "Biden and NASA Share First Webb Space Telescope Image – From the White House on Monday, humanity got its first glimpse of what the observatory in space has been seeing: a cluster of early galaxies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Pacucci, Fabio (15 July 2022). "How Taking Pictures of 'Nothing' Changed Astronomy - Deep-field images of "empty" regions of the sky from Webb and other space telescopes are revealing more of the universe than we ever thought possible". Scientific American. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ Deliso, Meredith; Longo, Meredith; Rothenberg, Nicolas (14 July 2022). "Hubble vs. James Webb telescope images: See the difference". ABC News. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ Kooser, Amanda (13 July 2012). "Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope Images Compared: See the Difference - The James Webb Space Telescope builds on Hubble's legacy with stunning new views of the cosmos". CNET. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ Atkinson, Nancy (2 May 2022). "Now, We can Finally Compare Webb to Other Infrared Observatories". Universe Today. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Chow, Denise; Wu, Jiachuan (12 July 2022). "Photos: How pictures from the Webb telescope compare to Hubble's - NASA's $10 billion telescope peers deeper into space than ever, revealing previously undetectable details in the cosmos". NBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2022.