This Monday (11) the first scientific photo submitted by James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The photo was announced in a live broadcast on social media by US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Bill Nelson, Administrator of NASA (US space agency).
The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, full of detail. There are hundreds of galaxies far away, we haven’t seen them so clearly. According to NASA, the image covers a slice of our sky equivalent to a grain of sand seen from an arm’s length away.
The first science image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723
SMACS 0723 appears in the image as it was about 4.6 billion years ago. Since these celestial bodies are so far away, it takes time for their light to reach our region of the universe. So when we look through telescopes, we see the past.
JWST is an infrared telescope capable of revealing details of the universe that our eyes and ancient telescopes cannot capture. The device was launched into space on December 25, 2021, after a series of delays. Since the total cost of the equipment was about $10 billion (approximately R$54 billion at the exchange rate on 11/07-2022), the scientists chose to wait for the most appropriate time to launch.
The super telescope, considered the successor to Hubble, is the result of a partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). According to NASA, the project’s main industrial partner is Northrop Grumman.
Before the photo was published, Kamala Harris said the photo was made possible only by the work of thousands of workers who have dedicated years of their lives to the project, and it highlights the union of different nations on the project. “JWST allows us to see the universe deeper and with impressive clarity, and that was only possible through partnership between nations,” said the vice president.
The image released on Monday is just the beginning of JWST’s science operations. On Tuesday (12), NASA will release a new wave of images. Disclosure may be accompanied by in this link.
According to the agency, astronomers around the world were able to apply to use a portion of the telescope’s available time for this first session. The first “goals” of the equipment were set by a committee of representatives of the organizations responsible for the construction and operation of the JWST.
