Celestial James Webb Telescope From it's 12/26/21 launch, it's first images, to it's future

[jward]

Unfortunately there are too many bits and bobs of information on this dropped into a # of threads, so reposting all the info in one thread is impractical. Instead, you can scroll through the threads on your own if you wish to see some of the background material posted on this site:

Celestial - Astronomy’s newest 10-year plan focuses on alien Earths

Posted for fair use..... https://news.stanford.edu/2021/12/16/astronomys-newest-10-year-plan-focuses-alien-earths/ DECEMBER 16, 2021 Astronomy’s newest 10-year plan focuses on alien Earths Stanford astronomer Bruce Macintosh was a co-author of the latest “Decadal Survey,” a once-in-a-decade...

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Celestial - James Webb was damaged by a micrometeorite impact

Posted for fair use..... https://hitechwiki.com/james-webb-was-damaged-by-a-micrometeorite-impact/ James Webb was damaged by a micrometeorite impact By Kajal Gupta - June 12, 2022 It is the nightmare of all astronauts and astronomers. Take damage from a micrometeorite impact. Invisible both to...

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SCI - One of first images taken by James Webb Space Telescope

I have no idea what the James Webb Space Telescope is, but the picture is pretty.... :)

www.timebomb2000.com

This article also provides a basic overview:
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: The ultimate guide
Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic

17-22 minutes

1. Home
2. References
3. Science & Astronomy

The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest and most powerful space telescope. (Image credit: 24K-Production via Getty Images)
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is an infrared space observatory that launched on Dec 25, 2021, from ESA's launch site at Kourou in French Guiana, at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT; 9:20 a.m. local time in Kourou), aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket.
NASA released the first scientific images from Webb at a live event on July, 12. Explore the first images in more detail and what it means for JWST science in our recently published article.

The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope — NASA's largest and most powerful space science telescope — will probe the cosmos to uncover the history of the universe from the Big Bang to alien planet formation and beyond. It is one of NASA's Great Observatories, huge space instruments that include the likes of the Hubble Space Telescope to peer deep into the cosmos.
For the latest mission news and updates, check out our NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission: Live updates page.
James Webb Space Telescope: Key facts

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: Hubble's Cosmic Successor

JWST is NASA's Big Bang-probing space observatory that is showing us our universe in a whole new light.

www.space.com

Launch date: Dec. 25, 2021.
Cost (at time of launch): $10 billion.
Orbit: JWST will orbit the sun, around the second Lagrange point (L2), nearly 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.
Primary mirror size: 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) across.
Sunshield: 69.5 ft by 46.5 ft (22 meters x 12 meters).
Mass: 14,300 lbs (6,500 kg).
It took 30 days for the James Webb Space Telescope to travel nearly a million miles (1.5 million kilometers) to its permanent home: a Lagrange point — a gravitationally stable location in space. The telescope arrived at L2, the second sun-Earth Lagrange point on Jan. 24, 2022. L2 is a spot in space near Earth that lies opposite from the sun; this orbit will allow the telescope to stay in line with Earth as it orbits the sun. It has been a popular spot for several other space telescopes, including the Herschel Space Telescope and the Planck Space Observatory.

Related: How the James Webb Space Telescope works in pictures
According to NASA (opens in new tab), the James Webb Space Telescope will focus on four main areas: first light in the universe, assembly of galaxies in the early universe, birth of stars and protoplanetary systems, and planets (including the origins of life.)

The James Webb Space Telescope will undergo a series of science and calibration tests including sunshield deployment, telescope deployment, instrument turn-on and telescope alignment. (Image credit: Future) (opens in new tab)
On July 11, NASA announced that all 17 of the observatory scientific instrument 'modes' have been fully vetted and that the James Webb Space Telescope is ready to begin its epic science mission.
The powerful James Webb Space Telescope is also expected to take amazing photos of celestial objects like its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. Luckily for astronomers, the Hubble Space Telescope remains in good health and it's probable that the two telescopes will work together for JWST's first years. JWST will also look at exoplanets that the Kepler Space Telescope found, or follow up on real-time observations from ground space telescopes.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the product of an impressive international (opens in new tab) collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency. According to NASA, the JWST involved over 300 universities, organizations and companies across 29 U.S. states and 14 countries. The nominal duration for the James Webb Space Telescope is five years but the goal is 10 years According to ESA (opens in new tab).

James Webb Space Telescope launch and deployment
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched on Dec 25, 2021, from ESA's launch site at Kourou in French Guiana, at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT; 9:20 a.m. local time in Kourou), aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket.
Thanks to a successful and precise launch, NASA announced that the JWST should have enough fuel to more than double its minimum mission life expectancy of 10 years. Since, its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope's accomplishments just keep on coming.
An impressive HD video captured the observatory flying away from the Ariane 5 rocket that carried it into space. The three-minute video shows Webb slowly drifting away from its rocket stage and unfurling its solar panels.

The James Webb Space Telescope after separating from the Ariane 5 rocket that carried it into space. This is one of our last views of the impressive telescope. (Image credit: ESA) (opens in new tab)
The James Webb Space Telescope deployed and tested a key antenna on Dec. 26, 2021, in a process that took about one hour, according to a NASA statement (opens in new tab). The antenna will be responsible for twice-daily science data dumps to Earth. Just a day later, on Dec. 27, the observatory sailed beyond the orbit of the moon.

On Dec. 31, 2021, Webb successfully unfurled its massive sunshield. The tensioning of the sunshield's five layers began on Jan, 3. 2022 and was completed the next day. The telescope's secondary mirror was then successfully deployed and latched on Jan. 5, 2022.
Then on Jan, 8. 2022, NASA announced that the James Webb Space Telescope had successfully unfolded the giant primary mirror and is now fully deployed. The next step for Webb is the alignment of the 18 individual mirrors that make up the observatory's primary mirror. NASA estimates the work could take up to 120 days after launch for the alignment to be complete.
The James Webb Space Telescope reached its final destination: L2, the second sun-Earth Lagrange point, which it will orbit, on Jan, 24. 2022 after traveling nearly a million miles (1.5 million kilometers). Lagrange points are gravitationally stable points in space.

James Webb Space Telescope images
The James Webb Space Telescopes' first science images were officially released by NASA during a live event on July 12, at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT). They included the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula, the striking Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan's Quintet and an analysis of the atmospheric composition of the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b.
Related: James Webb Space Telescope's 1st photos (gallery)
"You know what I'm most excited about?" Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, said during the event after the images were revealed. "There's tens of thousands of scientists — and frankly, some of them just got born or are not even born — who are benefiting from this amazing telescope because it will be with us for decades."
Related: Behold! The James Webb Space Telescope's stunning 1st science images are here.
A day earlier on July 11, 2022, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson unveiled the first science-quality image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The stunning image shows the deepest infrared view of the universe to date, according to a NASA statement, and was created using just 12.5 hours of observing time on one of the telescope's four instruments.

The first publicly released science-quality image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, revealed on July 11, 2022, is the deepest infrared view of the universe to date. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI) (opens in new tab)
Prior to the first image and data release, Webb had already treated us to several impressive images during its various instrument checks.
On Feb, 11. NASA announced (opens in new tab) that The James Webb Space Telescope had captured its first images of starlight. The first image taken by Webb was of a star called HD 84406. Light from HD84406 was captured by Webb's 18 mirror segments located on the primary mirror, resulting in a mosaic of 18 scattered bright dots.

The first published image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope shows part of a mosaic created over 25 hours beginning on Feb. 2, 2022, early in the process of aligning the 18 segments of the James Webb Space Telescope's mirror. (Image credit: NASA) (opens in new tab)
"As Webb aligns and focuses over the next few months, these 18 dots will slowly become a single star," Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, said on Twitter (opens in new tab).
On Feb, 18. NASA released a new and improved image of HD84406, bringing 18 unfocused copies of a star into a deliberate hexagonal formation. Once the observatory has successfully aligned the individual segments of the primary mirror it will begin the image stacking process. This will bring 18 images on top of each other into one clear view.
Webb has also taken an impressive "selfie" using a specialized camera inside the NIRCam instrument. The camera is designed to be used for engineering and alignment purposes.

A "selfie" shows the 18 segments of the James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror as seen from a specialized camera inside the NIRCam instrument. (Image credit: NASA) (opens in new tab)
In the "selfie" you can see one of the mirror segments is shining brighter than the others, this is because it is the only segment at the time successfully aligned and pointing at a star. The rest of the mirror segments were successfully aligned one by one.
On April 28, NASA announced in a statement (opens in new tab) that the James Webb Space Telescope had finished its alignment phase after demonstrating it can capture "crisp, well-focused images" will all four of its scientific instruments.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope can now capture sharp images of celestial objects with multiple instruments, the agency announced April 28, 2022. (Image credit: NASA/STScI) (opens in new tab)
On July 11, 2022, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson unveiled the first science-quality image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
The stunning image shows the deepest infrared view of the universe to date, according to a NASA statement (opens in new tab), and was created using just 12.5 hours of observing time on one of the telescope's four instruments.

 

[jward]

continued

James Webb Space Telescope science mandate
JWST's science mandate is principally divided among four areas:
First light and reionization
This refers to the early stages of the universe after the Big Bang started the universe as we know it today. In the first stages after the Big Bang, the universe was a sea of particles (such as electrons, protons and neutrons), and light was not visible until the universe cooled enough for these particles to begin combining. Another thing JWST will study is what happened after the first stars formed; this era is called "the epoch of reionization" because it refers to when neutral hydrogen was reionized (made to have an electric charge again) by radiation from these first stars.

The James Webb Space Telescope's 21.3-foot (6.5 meter) diameter primary mirror. (Image credit: NASA/C. Gunn) (opens in new tab)
Assembly of galaxies
Looking at galaxies is a useful way to see how matter is organized on gigantic scales, which in turn gives us hints as to how the universe evolved. The spiral and elliptical galaxies we see today actually evolved from different shapes over billions of years, and one of JWST's goals is to look back at the earliest galaxies to better understand that evolution. Scientists are also trying to figure out how we got the variety of galaxies that are visible today, and the current ways that galaxies form and assemble.
Birth of stars and protoplanetary systems
The Eagle Nebula's "Pillars of Creation" are some of the most famous birthplaces for stars. Stars come to be in clouds of gas, and as the stars grow, the radiation pressure they exert blows away the cocooning gas (which could be used again for other stars, if not too widely dispersed.) However, it's difficult to see inside the gas. JWST's infrared eyes will be able to look at sources of heat, including stars that are being born in these cocoons.
Planets and origins of life
The last decade has seen vast numbers of exoplanets discovered, including with NASA's planet-seeking Kepler Space Telescope. JWST's powerful sensors will be able to peer at these planets in more depth, including (in some cases) imaging their atmospheres. Understanding the atmospheres and the formation conditions for planets could help scientists better predict if certain planets are habitable or not.
James Webb Space Telescope onboard instruments
The JWST is equipped with four science instruments that will enable observations in visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared (0.6 to 28.5 micrometers) wavelengths.
James Webb Space Telescope vs. Hubble Space Telescope

Comparison of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's respective mirrors. (Image credit: Future/Adrian Mann) (opens in new tab)
Scientific advancement is all about "standing on the shoulders of giants" and the JWST will do just that, as its scientific goals were motivated by the results (opens in new tab) from the Hubble Space Telescope.
The two space telescopes have different capabilities, whilst Hubble primarily observed the cosmos in optical and ultraviolet wavelengths (with some infrared capabilities.) The JWST will primarily look at the universe in infrared. Due to the expansion of the universe, light from distant objects shifts to longer wavelengths (opens in new tab) at the redder end of the spectrum — known as redshifted, according to ESA. The JWST will observe this infrared light in great detail and shed light on some of the oldest stars and galaxies in the universe.
Another big difference between the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope is that JWST will orbit the sun, whilst Hubble orbits Earth. JWST will be too far away to be serviced (opens in new tab), unlike Hubble which was accessed and serviced by space shuttle missions.

James Webb Space Telescope delays
Good things come to those who wait.
The JWST was first slated to fly in 2007 and since then astronomers' patience has been sternly tested. A mix of engineering problems, political hesitancy and project management issues have all contributed to countless delays.
In July 2011, U.S. politicians threatened to pull funding (opens in new tab) for the JWST. After a nail-biting few months, the spacecraft was saved in November 2011. Then in March 2018, the launch of JWST was delayed due to technical issues with the spacecraft (opens in new tab). Later that year in June, an independent review board (opens in new tab) recommended the launch to be moved to March 2021.
In 2020, The global coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic impacted JWST's progress and in July 2020, NASA announced a new launch date (opens in new tab) of October 31, 2021. Despite the perseverance and determination of the JWST team during a difficult time, the delays kept coming.

In June 2021, problems with the Ariane 5 launch vehicle pushed the launch date (opens in new tab) back to November or possibly early December 2021. Then in September NASA and ESA announced yet another delay as the observatory had not yet been shipped from its original location in California to ESA's launch site at Kourou in French Guiana. The two agencies announced a new launch date of Dec.18, but bad weather soon put a stop to that.
Finally, the JWST successfully launched on Dec 25, 2021, from ESA's launch site at Kourou in French Guiana, at 7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT; 9:20 a.m. local time in Kourou), on board an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket.

The controversial naming of the James Webb Space Telescope
The space telescope was previously known as the Next Generation Space Telescope and was renamed (opens in new tab) the James Webb Space Telescope in Sept. 2002.
The JWST is named for former NASA chief James Webb. Webb took charge of the space agency from 1961 to 1968, retiring just a few months before NASA put the first man on the moon.
Although Webb's tenure as NASA administrator is most closely associated with the Apollo moon program, he is also considered a leader in space science. Even in a time of great political turmoil, Webb set NASA's science objectives, writing that launching a large space telescope should be a key goal of the space agency.
NASA launched more than 75 space science missions under Webb's guidance. They included missions that studied the sun, stars and galaxies as well as space directly above Earth's atmosphere.
Not everyone is happy with the choice of name for the space telescope. An online petition was set up by critics urging NASA to rename the telescope due to claims that Webb was complicit in discrimination against gay and lesbian NASA employees during his tenure. NASA has since said it will not rename the telescope despite complaints.

Additional resources
You can learn how the JWST is designed to answer some of the biggest questions in the universe with the UK Space Agency (opens in new tab) and explore it's impressive mirrors (opens in new tab) with NASA. Keep yourself and others entertained with these fun facts and a folding puzzler (opens in new tab) from Northrop Grumman.

Bibliography

• Astrophysics in the Next Decade: The James Webb Space Telescope and Concurrent Facilities (Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings) (opens in new tab).
• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: JWST observations in the solar system. (opens in new tab)
• Gardner et al. "The James Webb Space Telescope", Space Science Reviews, Volume 123, 2006. DOI: 10.1007/s11214-006-8315-7 (opens in new tab)

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

 

[jward]

James Webb Space Telescope releases dazzling first science images

Incredibly clear images of the Carina Nebula, the Eight-Burst Nebula, a galaxy cluster called Stephan’s Quintet and an exoplanet named WASP-96b make up the first set of science data from JWST
Space 12 July 2022
By Leah Crane

The Carina Nebula
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has released its first full-resolution images in a preview of the science soon to come. These five images, showing a deep-field view of the cosmos, two sparkling nebulae, a group of doomed galaxies and the chemical composition of a giant exoplanet, are the culmination of decades of work by scientists and engineers – and they are just the beginning.
After its launch in December 2021, JWST beamed down its very first images in February, but those were part of the telescope testing process and they didn’t yet demonstrate JWST’s full power. These science images do.

Carina Nebula
One of the brightest nebulae in the sky, the Carina Nebula is a huge cloud of gas and nascent stars. It is about 7600 light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Carina. The top part of the image, seen above, is full of huge, hot stars, shining onto the stellar nursery at the bottom of the picture.

“Today, for the first time, we’re seeing brand new stars that were completely hidden from our view,” said JWST scientist Amber Straughn. “We see examples of bubbles and cavities and jets that are being blown out by these newborn stars. We even see some galaxies sort of lurking in the background up here. We see examples of structures that honestly we don’t even know what they are. The data is just so rich.”

Southern Ring Nebula

Side-by-side observations of the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light (left) and mid-infrared light (right)


This cloud of dust and gas surrounding two stars is called the Southern Ring Nebula, or the Eight-Burst Nebula. Both of these images show the nebula in infrared, but the one on the right was taken using longer wavelengths than the one on the left.
The Southern Ring Nebula is about 2000 light years from Earth and nearly half a light year across. The bright cloud that makes up the ring came from the outer layers of one of the stars at the centre of the nebula, which expanded when it reached the end of its lifetime and transformed from a sun-like star into a white dwarf. The image on the right has revealed the two stars in extraordinary detail, showing that the dimmer, redder star – the one that spawned this nebula – is surrounded by dust, whereas the brighter star may puff out its own nebula in the future.

Stephan’s Quintet

Stephan’s Quintet galaxy cluster
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

These five galaxies, called Stephan’s Quintet, are about 290 million light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Pegasus. Four of the five are engaged in a deadly game of chicken, swooping past one another closer and closer until, someday in the distant cosmic future, they will most likely smash together and merge. We have seen them before – in fact, the group of four is the most thoroughly studied compact group of galaxies – but this image is far more detailed than any of the previous ones. It is a mosaic of almost 1000 pictures, making it JWST’s biggest image to date.
That detail allows us to see the area around a supermassive black hole, the brightest part of the top galaxy. “We cannot see the black hole itself, but we see the material sort of swirling around and being swallowed by this cosmic monster,” said JWST researcher Giovanna Giardino. This area is 40 billion times as bright as the sun, she said.

The JWST deep field

The first deep-field image from the James Webb Space Telescope
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Released on 11 July, “Webb’s First Deep Field” is the deepest image of the cosmos ever taken. JWST was designed to take such images to help us understand the first galaxies. The faint galaxies in this image include the most distant galaxy whose composition we have ever been able to measure.
“The previous record-holder, the Hubble Extreme Deep Field, was two weeks of continuous work with Hubble,” said JWST scientist Jane Rigby during the image release event at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. “With Webb, we took that image before breakfast… We’re going to be doing discoveries like this every week.”

WASP-96b

Light spectrum from exoplanet WASP-96b
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

This image showcases one of JWST’s other key capabilities: examining the light shining through the atmosphere of an exoplanet. It is the spectrum of light coming from a planet called WASP-96b, a gas giant about 1150 light years from Earth. Its mass is about half that of Jupiter, but it is much closer to its star – and therefore far hotter – orbiting once every 3.4 Earth days while Jupiter takes 12 Earth years to circle the sun. This particular planet has almost no clouds whatsoever, making it far easier to examine the chemistry of its atmosphere without anything to block the starlight shining through.
“It’s extremely hot, extremely close in, nothing like our solar system planets – but it’s OK,” said Knicole Colon at Goddard. “This is just the beginning. We’re going to start pushing down to further, smaller planets and being able to take measurements just like this.”

Read more: 7 big questions the James Webb Space Telescope is about to answer


Now that we have the first full-resolution images from JWST, the next step is getting more detailed data so that researchers can start digging into the science. This includes not only the data behind these images, but even deeper observations of the cosmos, from the most distant stars to a bevy of alien worlds to asteroids in our own solar system.
“This day gives a new meaning to ‘as far as the eye can see’,” said US Congressman Steny Hoyer during the image release event. Over the coming months and years, JWST is expected to continue pushing the limits of astronomy. It has enough fuel to continue observing for at least 20 years, and the release of these new images marks the beginning of year one.
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James Webb Space Telescope releases dazzling first science images

Incredibly clear images of the Carina Nebula, the Eight-Burst Nebula, a galaxy cluster called Stephan’s Quintet and an exoplanet named WASP-96b make up the first set of science data from JWST

www.newscientist.com

 

[tanstaafl]

This isn't a criticism of science but rather an acknowledgement that there are always opportunities (or risks, if you're the one in line to lose your testicles) in every new venture. We were already screwed when we took that very first bite from the Tree of Knowledge, so I say we aim as high as we possibly can!

Dr. Wolper (played by Peter O'Toole, from the 1984 movie "Creator"): I tell you, Boris, that one of these days we'll look into our microscope [or in this case, "telescope"] and find ourselves staring right into God's eyes, and the first one who blinks is going to lose his testicles.

 

[cyberiot]

So here's a dumb question . . .



Note the compass in the lower left corner of the image. Aren't compass points like "North" and "East" Earth-centric? Is there a North in intergalactic space? And where are you standing when you face it?

Go ahead. Send me to my room. I'm used to it . . .

BTW, the UHD image of the Carina Nebula looks awesome on the ol' desktop . . .

 

[tanstaafl]

Is there a North in intergalactic space?

Yes. It's as artificial as most maps showing North at the top instead of at the bottom (or even East at the top to indicate the direction to Jerusalem) or 0 degrees longitude starting at Greenwhich or international borders in general, but nonetheless it's an accepted astronomical convention that galactic North is above the plane of the galaxy based on which way the galaxy is rotating.

 

[cyberiot]

Yes. It's as artificial as most maps showing North at the top instead of at the bottom (or even East at the top to indicate the direction to Jerusalem) or 0 degrees longitude starting at Greenwhich or international borders in general, but nonetheless it's an accepted astronomical convention that galactic North is above the plane of the galaxy based on which way the galaxy is rotating.

Thank you! I'm almost starting to get it . . . sort of.

Gonna work on the notion of directions being conventions--North is what everybody agrees North is. When that gels, I'll start working on the intergalactic part.

Appreciate the help.

 

[jward]

Everyday Astronaut
@Erdayastronaut
Jul 12

I put together comparisons of what NASAHubble sees VS what NASAWebb sees, the results are astonishing. And just to think, these Webb images don’t have nearly the exposure times of Hubble, so much more is to come

I’m incredibly wowed by #JWST!!!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1546947951657893888

View: https://twitter.com/Erdayastronaut/status/1546947951657893888?s=20&t=IluMi-WCEgGeiRlzv7V42g

 

[tanstaafl]

I think someone questioned on one of the telescope threads if NASA digitally manipulated the pictures just released, presumably implying that NASA is in essence lying to everyone with these new gee-whiz images. Keep in mind that the JWST is an infrared telescope, which means the images have to be manipulated with false colors in order for the average person to make sense of them. I've said it before and I'll repeat it here: if you were standing on Mars looking at the landscape with your own eyes, from what I understand you'd see things in shades of gray instead of shades of red ... but who outside the science community wants to look at grayscale pictures of Mars? So, yes, there is an element of marketing involved, but not so much with the intent to mislead as the intent to have the data make sense to a generally non-technical audience.

 

[jward]

Don't be a buzz kill dood, I gots to haves my Oohhs and Aahhs o'er these purty colours to survive all da uglies down here on terra firma.

..but yer right, o' course..

 

[packyderms_wife]

James Webb telescope is so powerful, it detected water on a distant exoplanet

NASA's James Webb space telescope is so powerful it can even detect water and other substances on exoplanets clearly.

bgr.com

James Webb telescope is so powerful, it detected water on a distant exoplanet
Home › Science › Space

By Joshua Hawkins
July 15th, 2022 at 9:43 AM

NASA unveiled the first full-color images for its James Webb space telescope this week, and the results were absolutely astounding. While it’s easy to get caught up in the quality of the images that James Webb is capable of capturing, the newly activated telescope is more powerful than most might realize. In fact, the telescope is so powerful it detected water on a distant exoplanet.

James Webb detected water on a distant exoplanet

Image source: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

The exoplanet in question is Wasp-96 b, one of the five targets that the telescope focused on first. Where James Webb photographed the Carina Nebula and other targets, though, it analyzed Wasp-96 b. And it did so quite effectively. In fact, the analysis of Wasp-96 b was so thorough that scientists discovered water on the exoplanet.

NASA used the Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) to dive deep into the atmosphere make-up of the exoplanet. To do this, the scientists focused on completing what they call a transmission spectrum. To do this, the scientists compared starlight filtered through the planet’s atmosphere as it moves across the star, to the unfiltered starlight detected when the planet is next to a star.

NASA says that each of the 141 data points showcased on the graph it created (represented in the image above) shows the amount of a specific wavelength of light blocked by the planet and absorbed into its atmosphere. By looking at this data, NASA is able to determine more about the exoplanet’s makeup. That includes the fact that water can be found on this exoplanet.

Pushing science forward

Image source: dimazel / Adobe

The discovery of water in an exoplanet’s atmosphere with Webb is just a small testament to what this space telescope is capable of. Hubble first detected water on an exoplanet back in 2013. However, with Webb’s advancements, the telescope is even more capable of detecting water clearly. As Webb digs deeper into exoplanets, there’s no telling what scientists will find.

We already know that NASA has a full docket of scientific missions for Webb to complete over the coming years. One of those missions will include looking deeper into the black hole at the center of our galaxy. We’ve already captured an image of the Milky Way’s black hole. But, if we could learn more about it, and other black holes, we could better understand these intriguing galactic entities.

And, with Webb able to detect water on an exoplanet, we have a better chance of finding an Earth-like exoplanet that might support life.

 

[jward]

Hackers Are Sneaking Malware Into James Webb Images​

Nadeem Sarwar

22-28 minutes

---

In July 2022, NASA released the first images captured by the James Webb telescope. Among them was a stunning capture of the galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723. Back then, NASA called it the deepest infrared image of the universe, while the thousands of galaxies making an appearance in the monumental picture were touted to be the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, the same image is now being weaponized by hackers to seed malware and wreak all sorts of havoc from a remote server.
The folks over at security firm Securonix have detailed a malware seeding campaign called GO#WEBBFUSCATOR that is exploiting the Webb telescope's famous click to seed malware. The biggest advantage that comes with using Golang programming language is that it is natively cross-platform compatible, which means the same codebase can be deployed across different target platforms such as Linux, macOS, and Windows (via Cyware). In the latest example of Golang being abused for malicious goals, bad actors are delivering a malware payload that is virtually undetectable and involves the celebrated Webb image of the cosmos to hide malicious scripts.
To start the complex chain, hackers first seed a bogus email that contains a malicious Office attachment labeled (in Securonix's case, at least) Geos-Rates.docx in the inbox. The document's metadata actually hides (or obfuscates, which is where the campaign name comes from) metadata that can trigger a file download. The destination for the download URL further tries to pass off as a legitimate Microsoft web link, the security researchers explained in their blog post.

A sneaky but damaging attack​

Dima Zel/Shutterstock


Once the document is opened, the auto-download script saves the malicious code. The code then automatically executes itself to perform its intended job. Subsequently, the code injected into the system downloads a jpg image file that looks like the snap captured by the Webb telescope. However, analysis of the image using a text editor reveals that it actually hides a Base64 code, which itself tries to avoid suspicion by passing itself off as a legitimate certificate. This is actually the payload, which transforms into a 64-bit script ready to be executed and deal damage.
What truly elevates the threat level here is the fact that the malicious Base64 code moves past "all antivirus" systems without ringing any system-level threat alarms, Securonix says. Multiple layers of encoding and obfuscation are employed for the executable payload to evade detection. As soon as the payload is executed, it links the target system to a remote server, leaving the PC at the mercy of a hacker. Once a connection is established, encrypted data packets are sent to the hacker.
Securonix notes, "This practice can be used for either establishing an encrypted channel for command and control, or exfiltrating sensitive data." Moreover, the malware tricks the Windows registry Run key and becomes persistent, which means a reboot won't expel the malicious code. At this stage, it is up to the bad actor's skills and intentions to perform nuisances ranging from remote system takeover for extracting ransom to stealing data and spying.

Hackers Are Sneaking Malware Into James Webb Images - SlashGear

 

[jward]

Latest in space
@latestinspace


BREAKING : The James Webb Space Telescope has directly captured an exoplanet Over 318x larger than Earth

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1565532390633742336

View: https://twitter.com/latestinspace/status/1565532390633742336?s=20&t=LyHkC6FicPBiYHWZ2TDuqQ

 

[packyderms_wife]

Latest in space
@latestinspace


BREAKING : The James Webb Space Telescope has directly captured an exoplanet Over 318x larger than Earth

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1565532390633742336

View: https://twitter.com/latestinspace/status/1565532390633742336?s=20&t=LyHkC6FicPBiYHWZ2TDuqQ

Not surprised in the least. Now what type of life forms exist on such planet, giants perhaps?

 

[tanstaafl]

Keeping in mind that this telescope sees in infrared and they imaged the planet directly, it would have to be giants capable of living in probably very high heat.

 

[TheSearcher]

Keeping in mind that this telescope sees in infrared and they imaged the planet directly, it would have to be giants capable of living in probably very high heat.

We don't know that, as we don't know what gain was applied to the signal.

As for lifeforms size, though, all other things being habitable values, the gravity of the planet would not support very large creatures, well at teast not very tall. The structural demands would be too great.

 

[TheSearcher]

What is really starting to chap my hide about Webb is that the very first thing they should have looked at were very close star systems. They are inching to it, but I get the impression that they've already looked and are slow-rolling the release of the images.

 

[tanstaafl]

We don't know that, as we don't know what gain was applied to the signal.

As for lifeforms size, though, all other things being habitable values, the gravity of the planet would not support very large creatures, well at teast not very tall. The structural demands would be too great.

It did occur to me afterwards that a low temperature would also show up on infrared, although more like a "hole" due to lack of data (over-simplifying it). Still, I figure being able to pull out the image of a planet from all the rest of the data would indicate something that stood out, thus the idea that it's a hot planet and very obvious in the infrared. Or not. As to large creatures, seems to me there were supposed to be enormous (by today's standards) insects flying around in Earth's atmosphere back when there was a lot more oxygen in the atmosphere, so maybe a hyper-rich oxygen atmosphere could support larger land critters as well.

By the way, it might be interesting to remember that according to my notes they were getting images of planets around other stars as long ago as 2005:

2005/01/10/Mon - Astronomers announced they had an actual image of an extrasolar planet instead of just indirect evidence of a planet's orbit around its sun, planet was estimated to be five times as massive as Jupiter and about a third farther from its sun than Pluto is from our Sun (in other words, huge and very far from its brown dwarf sun)

 

[jward]

Paul Byrne
@ThePlanetaryGuy

NEW #JWST IMAGE JUST DROPPED DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR CLICK ON THE PIC TO MAKE IT FULL SCREEN
This is 30 Doradus—the Tarantula Nebula—like we've never seen it before. The nebula is about 161,000 lightyears away, in the Large Magellanic Cloud; this image has a field of view *340 lightyears* across. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
Read more about this image here: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/041/01GA76MYFN0FMKNRHGCAGGYCVQ?news=true And more on this data release: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-

 

[TheSearcher]

This is REALLY pissing me off. Look at the Gliese system, look at bloody ALPHA CENTAURI!

 

[tanstaafl]

This is REALLY pissing me off. Look at the Gliese system, look at bloody ALPHA CENTAURI!

Well, next time you pony up $10 billion. Then they'll probably let you pick some of the targets.

 

[TheSearcher]

Well, next time you pony up $10 billion. Then they'll probably let you pick some of the targets.

Well, I did pay for some of the program. Funny, they aren't taking suggestions that I'm aware.

However, given that JWST has taken some very nice pictures of Jupiter, and has been able to resolve a planet in a another stellar system, you'd think they'd look at our nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri. Or at the Gliese system, where a super--Earth has been at least inferred to exist.

The science team is apparently avoiding the targeting of these near systems for some reason. People want to see what's there.

 

[Publius]

There is so much out there and now they have a new toy that can get a better look at some really distant targets.
The Hubble telescope was great and really Wowed us and it's still in use.

 

[tanstaafl]

Speaking of the Hubble Space Telescope, it seems to me that they are/were taking suggestions from people about where to point it. Although I think you have to be in a "privileged" category (like school children) to actually be taken seriously. Most people probably aren't aware of it, but there can be a huge difference in what different astronomers want to study -- scary to imagine where nerds are involved, but from what I understand there are actual cliques in the astronomy community. Some of them can't be bothered for anything smaller than an entire galaxy, and based on the released pictures thus far I suspect those are the astronomers with their hands on the wheel (so to speak).

 

[Lone_Hawk]

They have a new car. They took it out on the Interstate and opened it up to see how fast it will go.

 

[jward]

Latest in space
@latestinspace


BREAKING : James Webb Space Telescope is currently observing Pluto

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1577855158658207744

View: https://twitter.com/latestinspace/status/1577855158658207744?s=20&t=cPsoz4mDtv0C_iMmD94NgA

 

[jward]

James Webb telescope just dropped its latest image, Neptune, and its rings

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1572625391281373184

View: https://twitter.com/latestinspace/status/1572625391281373184?s=20&t=cPsoz4mDtv0C_iMmD94NgA

 

[dawgofwar10]

The one thing I do not want see is a closeup of Uranus..

 

[jward]

Nov 16, 2022

NASA’s Webb Catches Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms​

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a new star. These blazing clouds within the Taurus star-forming region are only visible in infrared light, making it an ideal target for Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).

The protostar itself is hidden from view within the “neck” of this hourglass shape. An edge-on protoplanetary disk is seen as a dark line across the middle of the neck. Light from the protostar leaks above and below this disk, illuminating cavities within the surrounding gas and dust.

The protostar within the dark cloud L1527, shown in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is embedded within a cloud of material feeding its growth. Ejections from the star have cleared out cavities above and below it, whose boundaries glow orange and blue in this infrared view. The upper central region displays bubble-like shapes due to stellar “burps,” or sporadic ejections.
Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale, A. Pagan, and A. Koekemoer (STScI)
Download the full-resolution image from the Space Telescope Science Institute.

The region’s most prevalent features, the clouds colored blue and orange in this representative-color infrared image, outline cavities created as material shoots away from the protostar and collides with surrounding matter. The colors themselves are due to layers of dust between Webb and the clouds. The blue areas are where the dust is thinnest. The thicker the layer of dust, the less blue light is able to escape, creating pockets of orange.

Webb also reveals filaments of molecular hydrogen that have been shocked as the protostar ejects material away from it. Shocks and turbulence inhibit the formation of new stars, which would otherwise form all throughout the cloud. As a result, the protostar dominates the space, taking much of the material for itself.

Despite the chaos that L1527 causes, it’s only about 100,000 years old - a relatively young body. Given its age and its brightness in far-infrared light as observed by missions like the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, L1527 is considered a class 0 protostar, the earliest stage of star formation. Protostars like these, which are still cocooned in a dark cloud of dust and gas, have a long way to go before they become full-fledged stars. L1527 doesn’t generate its own energy through nuclear fusion of hydrogen yet, an essential characteristic of stars. Its shape, while mostly spherical, is also unstable, taking the form of a small, hot, and puffy clump of gas somewhere between 20 and 40% the mass of our Sun.

As the protostar continues to gather mass, its core gradually compresses and gets closer to stable nuclear fusion. The scene shown in this image reveals L1527 doing just that. The surrounding molecular cloud is made up of dense dust and gas being drawn to the center, where the protostar resides. As the material falls in, it spirals around the center. This creates a dense disk of material, known as an accretion disk, which feeds material to the protostar. As it gains more mass and compresses further, the temperature of its core will rise, eventually reaching the threshold for nuclear fusion to begin.

The disk, seen in the image as a dark band in front of the bright center, is about the size of our solar system. Given the density, it’s not unusual for much of this material to clump together - the beginnings of planets. Ultimately, this view of L1527 provides a window into what our Sun and solar system looked like in their infancy.


The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

---

Media Contacts:

Laura Betz
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Md.
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Claire Blome / Christine Pulliam
Space Telescope Science Institute, Md.
cblome@stsci.edu / cpulliam@stsci.edu

Last Updated: Nov 16, 2022

Editor: Jamie Adkins

Tags: Goddard Space Flight Center, James Webb Space Telescope, Stars, Universe​

NASA’s Webb Catches Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the once-hidden features of the protostar within the dark cloud L1527, providing insight into the beginnings of a new star. These blazing clouds within the Taurus star-forming region are only visible in infrared light, making it an ideal target for...

www.nasa.gov

 

[tanstaafl]

NASA’s Webb Catches Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms​

That's a pretty one! I wonder if the mission ops folks see that stuff as anything other than raw data or if they have software to do instant initial conversions to visible spectrum pictures? I still remember sitting glued in front of a TV watching as-it-came-in pictures of Voyager at Neptune. My roommate quickly got bored and wanted to change the channel, but I was enthusiastically adamant about how this stuff was coming in LIVE from freaking NEPTUNE and the channel would NOT change! Kids today take it for granted that of course we can do these things whenever we feel like it, so I imagine if they really do send astronauts back to the Moon via Artemis in just two or three years the kids will be terminally bored that it isn't more spectacular.

 

[jward]

JWST has broken the record for most distant galaxy ever confirmed​

Leah Crane

---

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted the most distant galaxy ever definitively confirmed, which formed within about 325 million years of the big bang
Space 9 December 2022

An illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope deployed in space
Adriana Manrique Gutierrez, NASA Animator
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has spotted the most distant galaxies ever confirmed. While it has seen many galaxies that seem extraordinarily far away, these are the first ones with evidence proving that they are as distant as they appear.

Astronomers measure the distances to cosmic objects using a metric called redshift. Because of the expansion of the universe, the more distant an object is from Earth, the faster it moves away from us. Similar to the Doppler effect, in which a sound seems to rise or fall in pitch depending on whether it is moving towards or away from the listener, the colour of the light coming from a galaxy becomes redder the faster it is speeding away. By comparing how red a galaxy appears with calculations of its actual colour, astronomers can determine how distant a galaxy really is.

In early observations of galaxies by JWST, astronomers could only make an approximation of each galaxy’s redshift because they didn’t have detailed data on the spectra of the light coming from them. Those observations provided hints of galaxies with redshifts of 12 and above, meaning they seem to be more than 30 billion light years away and would have formed within 400 million years of the big bang – but many scientists viewed those findings with scepticism because of the lack of precise confirmation.

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“It was crucial to prove that these galaxies do, indeed, inhabit the early universe,” said Emma Curtis-Lake at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK in a NASA blog post. “It’s very possible for closer galaxies to masquerade as very distant galaxies.”
Now, as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES), researchers have confirmed the redshifts of four extremely distant galaxies, ranging from about 10.4 to 13.2. That means that they formed between 325 million and 450 million years of the big bang. The previous record for highest confirmed redshift was about 11.

“These are by far the faintest infrared spectra ever taken,” said Stefano Carniani at Scuola Normale Superiore in Italy. The observations took 28 hours over three days and covered 250 faint galaxies in total, and another set of observations is planned for 2023. It is expected to confirm even more of these distant galaxies, which will teach us about the early days of galaxy formation and how the most distant galaxies differ from those in our cosmic neighbourhood.
Reference: arxiv.org/abs/2212.04480
Sign up to our free Launchpad newsletter for a voyage across the galaxy and beyond, every Friday

Article amended on 15 December 2022​

We corrected the estimated distance in light years for a redshift of 12

JWST has broken the record for most distant galaxy ever confirmed

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted the most distant galaxy ever definitively confirmed, which formed within about 325 million years of the big bang

www.newscientist.com

 

[jward]

Paul Byrne
@ThePlanetaryGuy

Another incredible view of the "Cosmic Cliffs" from #JWST in 8K.
Open it up and lose yourself in the incredible details of a region of space where stars are being born.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1603519741934682114

View: https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy/status/1603519741934682114?s=20&t=AYrV-qWrzsnMYXEcICFkWA


This portion of the edge of a gigantic cavity with the open star cluster NGC 3324, in the Carina Nebula, was taken with the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on @NASAWebb @ESA_Web The wavelengths in this image reveal newborn stars, jets, and outflow streams not previously visible.

This image spans a region of space around 16 lightyears across.
That means that a photon arriving at one end of this scene left the other end in 2006.
In this image, red, green, and blue were assigned to NIRCam data at 4.7, 4.44, and 1.87 microns, respectively.

Get the full resolution image and read more here:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1603523114373193728

View: https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy/status/1603523114373193728?s=20&t=AYrV-qWrzsnMYXEcICFkWA

 

[jward]

Paul n I are easily awed. EVERYTHING ELSE IS AN ENTIRE GALAXY.



Paul Byrne
@ThePlanetaryGuy


This is a new #JWST image. The six-pointed objects are stars in the Milky Way. Everything else is an entire galaxy. EVERYTHING ELSE AN ENTIRE GALAXY
The large spiral galaxy at the bottom of the image is LEDA 2046648, situated about a billion lightyears from Earth. So we're seeing this galaxy as it looked 400 million years before complex life emerged on our planet.
This image was taken by the @NASAWebb @ESA_Webb NIRCam instrument, at 1.5 μm, 2.0 μm, 2.77 μm, and 3.56 μm wavelengths. Credit: ESA/NASA/CSA/A. Martel

 

[TheSearcher]

What about the Alpha Centauri system, or the possible earthlike system at Gliese?

 

[jward]

Scientists have "discovered the impossible" – and it could change everything we know about the dawn of the universe​

Li Cohen​

---

Space

February 23, 2023 / 8:32 AM / CBS News

Scientists finally got a glimpse of what the universe looked like more than 13 billion years ago. And what they found could change everything we know about the dawn of the universe.

When the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope were released last July, astronomers got their earliest look at cosmo history yet, seeing captured images of what the universe looks like billions of light years away. They expected to maybe see some "tiny, young, baby galaxies." What they found, however, was something far greater – six massive galaxies dating back about 13.1 billion years that appeared to be just as old as the Milky Way is now.
"These objects are way more massive than anyone expected," astronomer Joel Leja said. "...We've discovered galaxies as mature as our own in what was previously understood to be the dawn of the universe."

Those findings were published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Ivo Labbé, the lead author of the study, said they started realizing they were onto something barely a week after the telescope images were released.

"Little did I know that among the pictures is a small red dot that will shake up our understanding of how the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang," Labbé said. "...I run the analysis software on the little pinprick and it spits out two numbers: distance 13.1 billion light years, mass 100 billion stars, and I nearly spit out my coffee. We just discovered the impossible. Impossibly early, impossibly massive galaxies."

‘We just discovered the impossible’ – Images from the powerful new #JWST show a small red dot that will shake up our understanding of how galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Associate Professor Ivo Labbe has published the results in @Nature ‘We just discovered the impossible': how giant baby galaxies are shaking up our understanding of the early Universe pic.twitter.com/5zFlv6UWC9
— Swinburne University of Technology (@Swinburne) February 23, 2023

That red dot was just the beginning. The next day, they found five more apparent galaxies. And the pictures taken by JWST show them as they were when our 13.8 billion-year-old universe was a mere 700 million years old. And if that's the case, they said, that would mean that the galaxies formed "as many stars as our present-day Milky Way. In record time."
They were able to identify the objects thanks to the telescope's infrared-sensing technology that's able to find the light of ancient space bodies.

"What's funny is we have all these things we hope to learn from James Webb and this was nowhere near the top of the list," Leja said. "We've found something we never thought to ask the universe — and it happened way faster than I thought, but here we are."

Leja said that while the objects so far do appear to be galaxies, there is a "real possibility" that some of the entities they found could be supermassive black holes – areas in space where a large amount of matter is packed into an area millions times as massive as the sun and where NASA says gravity is "so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape."

But even if it turns out that some of the six objects they found are black holes, it still shows "an astounding change."
"Regardless, the amount of mass we discovered means that the known mass in stars at this period of our universe is up to 100 times greater than we had previously thought," Leja said. "...The revelation that massive galaxy formation began extremely early in the history of the universe upends what many of us had thought was settled science. We've been informally calling these objects 'universe breakers' — and they have been living up to their name so far."
The objects, they said, are so big that scientists may have to alter cosmology models or force a total consensus revision of the belief that galaxies start out as little dust clouds and take a long time to become giant entities.
Now, researchers are trying to pinpoint exactly what these objects are. Leja hopes they can take a spectrum image, which he said will reveal just how big and far away the objects really are.

"We looked into the very early universe for the first time and had no idea what we were going to find," Leja added. "It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the whole picture of early galaxy formation into question."

• In:
• James Webb Space Telescope
• News From Space
• Space
• NASA
• Milky Way
• posted for fair use
• Scientists have "discovered the impossible" – and it could change everything we know about the dawn of the universe

 

[jward]

What about the Alpha Centauri system, or the possible earthlike system at Gliese?

I know that is what you'd like to see. I've kept an eye out for info- iirc AC is on the agenda, but will be a while yet before they get to er.
or not. I'll post facts when I find em. Or someone will.

 

[Publius]

I have said in the past that each time we open a new door and solve old problems we also find out how much more we do not know.

 

[Double_A]

The one thing I do not want see is a closeup of Uranus..

Don't worry it seems it's always obscured by gaseous clouds

 

[Redleg]

Keeping in mind that this telescope sees in infrared and they imaged the planet directly, it would have to be giants capable of living in probably very high heat.

Fire Giants?

 

[jward]

Exoplanets
.

NASA’s Webb Spots Swirling, Gritty Clouds on Remote Planet​

March 22, 2023

https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/original_images/1-planet-illustration-updated.jpg


This illustration shows the swirling clouds identified by the James Webb Space Telescope in the atmosphere of exoplanet VHS 1256 b. The planet is about 40 light-years away and orbits two stars. The planet’s clouds, which are filled with silicate dust, are constantly rising, mixing, and moving. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) Full Image Details



In just a few hours of observations, the space telescope revealed a dynamic atmosphere on a planet 40 light-years from Earth.

Researchers observing with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have pinpointed silicate cloud features in a distant planet’s atmosphere. The atmosphere is constantly rising, mixing, and moving during its 22-hour day, bringing hotter material up and pushing colder material down. The resulting brightness changes are so dramatic that it is the most variable planetary-mass object known to date. The team, led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona, also made extraordinarily clear detections of water, methane, and carbon monoxide with Webb’s data, and found evidence of carbon dioxide. This is the largest number of molecules ever identified all at once on a planet outside our solar system.
Cataloged as VHS 1256 b, the planet is about 40 light-years away and orbits not one, but two stars over a 10,000-year period. “VHS 1256 b is about four times farther from its stars than Pluto is from our Sun, which makes it a great target for Webb,” Miles said. “That means the planet’s light is not mixed with light from its stars.” Higher up in its atmosphere, where the silicate clouds are churning, temperatures reach a scorching 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit (830 degrees Celsius).
https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/original_images/e-planet_spectra.jpg


Instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope known as spectrographs, one on its Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and another on its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), observed planet VHS 1256 b. The resulting spectrum shows signatures of silicate clouds, water, methane, and carbon monoxide.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI); Science: Brittany Miles (University of Arizona), Sasha Hinkley (University of Exeter), Beth Biller (University of Edinburgh), Andrew Skemer (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Within those clouds, Webb detected both larger and smaller silicate dust grains, which are shown on a spectrum. “The finer silicate grains in its atmosphere may be more like tiny particles in smoke,” noted co-author Beth Biller of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. “The larger grains might be more like very hot, very small sand particles.”

VHS 1256 b has low gravity compared to more massive brown dwarfs, which means that its silicate clouds can appear and remain higher in its atmosphere where Webb can detect them. Another reason its skies are so turbulent is the planet’s age. In astronomical terms, it’s quite young. Only 150 million years have passed since it formed – and it will continue to change and cool over billions of years.
In many ways, the team considers these findings to be the first “coins” pulled out of a spectrum that researchers view as a treasure chest of data. They’ve only begun identifying its contents. “We’ve identified silicates, but better understanding which grain sizes and shapes match specific types of clouds is going to take a lot of additional work,” Miles said. “This is not the final word on this planet – it is the beginning of a large-scale modeling effort to fit Webb’s complex data.”

Although all of the features the team observed have been spotted on other planets elsewhere in the Milky Way by other telescopes, other research teams typically identified only one at a time. “No other telescope has identified so many features at once for a single target,” said co-author Andrew Skemer of the University of California, Santa Cruz. “We’re seeing a lot of molecules in a single spectrum from Webb that detail the planet’s dynamic cloud and weather systems.”
The team came to these conclusions by analyzing data known as spectra gathered by two instruments aboard Webb, the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Since the planet orbits at such a great distance from its stars, the researchers were able to observe it directly, rather than using the transit technique or a coronagraph to take this data.
There will be plenty more to learn about VHS 1256 b in the months and years to come as this team – and others – continue to sift through Webb’s high-resolution infrared data. “There’s a huge return on a very modest amount of telescope time,” Biller added. “With only a few hours of observations, we have what feels like unending potential for additional discoveries.”

What might become of this planet billions of years from now? Since it’s so far from its stars, it will become colder over time, and its skies may transition from cloudy to clear.
The researchers observed VHS 1256 b as part of Webb’s Early Release Science program, which is designed to help transform the astronomical community’s ability to characterize planets and the disks where they form.
The team’s paper, entitled “The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 Micron Spectrum of the Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b,” will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on March 22.

More About the Mission​

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

MIRI was developed through a 50-50 partnership between NASA and ESA. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory led the U.S. efforts for MIRI, and a multinational consortium of European astronomical institutes contributes for ESA. George Rieke with the University of Arizona is the MIRI science team lead. Gillian Wright is the MIRI European principal investigator. Alistair Glasse with UK ATC is the MIRI instrument scientist, and Michael Ressler is the U.S. project scientist at JPL. Laszlo Tamas with UK ATC manages the European Consortium. The MIRI cryocooler development was led and managed by JPL, in collaboration with Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
For more information about the Webb mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/webb

NASA’s Webb Spots Swirling, Gritty Clouds on Remote Planet

In just a few hours of observations, the space telescope revealed a dynamic atmosphere on a planet 40 light-years from Earth.

www.jpl.nasa.gov