NASA on Tuesday released a series of new images from its new powerful space telescope, including a shot of a dying star that is blue and orange with foam. The first image from the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope was unveiled Monday at the White House – a jumble of distant galaxies that have gone deeper into space than humanity has ever seen. have seen.
Four additional photos released Tuesday include more shots of cosmic beauty.
With one exception, the latest images show parts of the universe seen by other telescopes. But Webb’s sheer power, distant extraterrestrial location, and use of infrared light spectroscopy showed them in a new light.
“Each image is a new discovery, and each image will give humanity a view of humanity we’ve never seen before,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday, recording the The image shows “the formation of stars, swallowing black holes”.
Webb’s use of infrared light spectrum allows the telescope to see through cosmic dust and “see light from distant light from the corners of the universe,” he said.
“We have really changed our understanding of space,” said Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency.
The European and Canadian space agencies have joined with NASA to build this powerful telescope.
On Tuesday:
– The Southern Ring Nebula, sometimes referred to as the “eighties”. About 2,500 light-years away, it shows an expanding cloud of gas surrounding a dying star. A light year is 5.8 trillion miles.
– The Carina Nebula, one of the brightest star nurseries in the sky, is about 7,600 light-years away.
– Five galaxies in the universe, 290 million light-years away. Stephan’s Quintet was first seen 225 years ago in the constellation Pegasus.
– A giant blue planet called WASP-96b. It is about the size of Saturn and is 1,150 light-years away. A gaseous planet, it is not a candidate for life elsewhere but a primary target of astronomers.
The images, unveiled one after another at an event at NASA’s Goddard Space Center, feature cheerleaders in the colors of the telescope’s golden mirror.
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope launched a rocket last December from French Guiana in South America. It reached an observation point 1 million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth in January. Then, the lengthy process begins to align the mirrors, make the infrared detectors cold enough to operate and calibrate the scientific instruments, all protected by a sunshade the size of a. The size of a tennis court keeps the telescope cool.
Webb is considered the successor to the very successful but aging Hubble Space Telescope.
