- The deepest image of the cosmos will be revealed on July 12 captured by using Webb’s telescope.
- NASA’s partner Arianespace adds 20 years of operational life to the telescope which doubles the opportunity to grow deeper into science and history and make new observations.
- On July 12, NASA also plans to release Webb’s first spectroscopy of an exoplanet, a distant planet.
The fully functioning James Webb Space Telescope, according to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, will enable the agency to show the “deepest image of our Universe ever taken” on July 12.
With its huge primary mirror and infrared-focused instruments, which enable it to see through dust and gas, the Webb telescope is a marvel of engineering that can look farther into the cosmos than any telescope before it. “If you think about that, this is farther than humanity has ever looked before,” said Nelson during a press conference at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
Webb will investigate solar system objects and the atmospheres of exoplanets orbiting other stars, providing us with information about whether those atmospheres might be compatible with our own. It might provide answers to some of our questions, such as Where are we from? What else is there to assume? Who we really are? In addition, it will undoubtedly provide answers to some questions of which we are not even aware, Nelson added.
Breaking the Big Bang
Webb can see farther into the past, to the Big Bang, which occurred 13.8 billion years ago, using its infrared vision. The earliest cosmic observations to yet have been made within 330 million years of the Big Bang, but scientists anticipate easily breaking this record given Webb’s capabilities. The light from the first stars moves from the shorter ultraviolet and visible wavelengths it was emitted into longer infrared wavelengths as the universe expands, which Webb is able to detect with an unprecedented level of resolution.
More lifetime for research
More good news came from NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy, who said that the telescope might be operational for 20 years, which is twice as long as was initially planned, due to an effective launch by NASA’s partner Arianespace.
“Since we have 20 years to study, develop, and make new observations,” she continued, “we will not only be able to go deeper into history and time but also into science.”
First Spectroscopy of Webb
According to NASA’s chief scientist Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA also plans to release Webb’s first spectroscopy of an exoplanet on July 12. A planetary spectrum can be used to characterize its atmosphere and other characteristics, including whether it has water and the nature of its surface, using spectroscopy, a technique for analyzing the chemical and molecular composition of distant objects.
“We’ll start out by looking at those other planets that keep us up at night as we gaze up at the night sky and consider the question, “Is there life elsewhere?” asked Zurbuchen.
