James Webb Space Telescope launched in 2021 sent back its first images of our universe
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released July 11, 2022 an image of a galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago, according to the official statement.
The image, unveiled by US President Joe Biden, is the “deepest and sharpest infrared image” of the some of the farthest and oldest galaxies that have been observed. And it took less than a day to create this composite photograph from images captured at various wavelengths, said NASA.
It is among the first series of photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched in 2021. The rest will be released in a NASA broadcast July 12, 2022 around 8pm (Indian Standard Time).
Every tiny speck in the image, except the stars, is a galaxy. But this part of the space is still miniscule compared to the entire magnitude of the universe, according to NASA.
If you held a grain of sand up to the sky at arm’s length, that tiny speck is the size of Webb’s view in this image. Imagine — galaxies galore within a grain, including light from galaxies that traveled billions of years to us!
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) July 11, 2022
Older and more distant universes have been observed earlier but the clarity the James Webb image offers is unprecedented, the US space agency noted. “They have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features,” it said in a statement.
These features will help scientists learn more about the mass, age, history and compostion of each of these ancient galaxies, the note read.
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