On July 11 and 12, 2022, humanity took a step into the future.
This nearly perfectly aligned composite image shows the first JWST deep-field view of the SMACS 0723 cluster core and contrasts it with the earlier Hubble view. Looking at details in the image that are absent from the Hubble data, but present in the JWST data, shows us the potential for discovery that JWST scientists expect.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI; NASA/ESA/Hubble (STScI); composite by E. Siegel)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) released its first scientific images, revealing the Universe in unprecedented light.
This enhanced view of JWST’s first deep-field image of the cosmos overexposes the brightest galaxies and the center of the cluster to better show the details present in fainter, redder, and more distant galaxies. This first deep-field view took just half a day to acquire with JWST. With over 20 years of data to come, we can only imagine what will be revealed.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI; processing by E. Siegel)
The first image was a deep-field view of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, whose gravity magnifies background objects.
A number of extremely different objects were revealed in the JWST image of SMACS 0723, and the power of spectroscopy allowed us to determine precisely how far away they are and how much their light is stretched by the expansion of the ‘Universe. This is a powerful demonstration of JWST’s capabilities, as well as an illustration of the capabilities of gravitational lenses.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
Containing objects from throughout cosmic history, it previews even deeper and wider field views.
A portion of the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field imaged for 23 total days, in contrast to the simulated view expected by James Webb in the infrared. With large-area mosaics such as COSMOS-Web and PANORAMIC, the latter taking advantage of pure parallel observation, close, we should not only break the cosmic record for the most distant galaxy, but we should learn about what the first luminous objects in the world. The universe seemed
(Credits: NASA/ESA and Hubble/HUDF team; JADES collaboration for the NIRCam simulation)
But three other imaged targets were also observed, also revealing unexpected and never-before-seen galaxies.
This three-panel image shows the view of the Carina Nebula’s “cosmic cliffs” as seen by Hubble (top), JWST’s NIRCam instrument (middle), and JWST’s MIRI instrument (bottom) . With its first scientific launch upon us, this new era of astronomy has truly arrived.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI; NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))
The Carina Nebula, located within the Milky Way, is a dusty region rich in gas and stars.
Although difficult to identify by eye, there are numerous galaxies that can be seen among the clouds of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula. Many of them have been manually circled here in the cropped image from JWST’s NIRCam instrument.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, processing by E. Siegel)
But numerous galaxies appear through the obscuring matter.
On the less dusty side of the Carina Nebula’s cosmic cliffs, a number of faint, extended objects can be identified among the bright stars that populate most of this region of space. Even in the Galactic plane, where star densities are highest and neutral matter is abundant, background galaxies are abundant and will likely appear in virtually all future JWST images.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, processing by E. Siegel)
Even in this dense region of our galaxy, the Universe beyond can be glimpsed.
Overlaid with (older) Hubble data, the JWST NIRCam image of the Southern Ring Nebula is clearly superior in several ways: resolution, revealed detail, extent of outer gas, etc. It is truly a spectacular revelation of how stars like the Sun end their lives.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
The Southern Ring Nebula, a dying Sun-like star within our own galaxy, also reveals background sources.
Even where the remains of a dying star within our own galaxy are more luminous and feature-rich, numerous background galaxies can be identified, cutting through dust that would otherwise block light at wavelengths infrared wave
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, processing by E. Siegel)
Some galaxies pass through the filaments of the nebula.
Outside the nebulous structure of the Southern Ring Nebula, the abyss of empty space is exposed by JWST’s NIRCam image. A large number of galaxies and candidate galaxies can be identified, even by hand. Many of these objects have never been seen before, showing the power of JWST to reveal the previously unknown Universe, even when this was not the scientific goal of the imaging campaign.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, processing by E. Siegel)
Others richly occupy the space on its outskirts.
This unannotated portion of JWST’s NIRCam instrument view of the Southern Ring Nebula reveals the edges of the nebula, a number of multi-pointed stars, and a large number of identifiable extended objects as background galaxies. In every region of space imaged by NIRCam, galaxies await.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
In every direction and place, there is something spectacular to exhibit.
This contrast of the Hubble view of Stephan’s Quintet with the NIRCam view of JWST reveals a number of features that are barely apparent or not at all obvious with a shorter set of more restrictive wavelengths. The differences between the images highlight what features JWST might reveal that Hubble misses. Despite the beauty and awe that this image provides, there are no known planetary systems, in our own galaxy or anywhere else, where humans could survive as we do on Earth.
(Credits: NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO team; NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
But Stephan’s Quintet image from JWST was the most illuminating.
Outside of the five main galaxies that make up Stephan’s Quintet, the JWST NIRCam view exposes thousands of additional galaxies that exist in the background, hundreds of which can be seen here and many of which have never before been identified by any other instrument or observatory
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
galaxies of all colors,
The colors and shapes of galaxies revealed here by JWST’s NIRCam are determined not only by the intrinsic color and shape of the galaxies and the stars within them, but also by cosmological redshift and the imprinted cumulative distortion for all the masses in the foreground. The resolution of these background galaxies is unprecedented.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
shapes,
This extremely rich region of space was captured while viewing Stephan’s Quintet with JWST’s NIRCam instrument. Many of these galaxies cluster in real space, while others are simply fortuitous alignments along the same line of sight. A clustered analysis of regions like this, many of which will be revealed in great detail by JWST, can provide a great deal of additional science beyond what was planned.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
and grouping patterns,
And just as there are many regions of space that have been imaged that are overdense in terms of the number of galaxies and the total mass of that region, there are also underdense void-like regions. JWST can reveal them all, wherever it turns its infrared eyes.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
can be seen everywhere.
This region, located just outside the regions of star formation caused by the interaction of multiple galaxy members within the Stephan’s Quintet, reveals numerous details about nearby star formation in these galaxies, while also revealing galaxies of background The saying, “One astronomer’s noise is another astronomer’s data” bears out here, as extragalactic and stellar astronomers of all stripes can have a field day with what has been revealed just in this region of space.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
We have long said, “One astronomer’s noise is another astronomer’s data.”
The MIRI view of Stephan’s Quintet shows features that cannot be seen at any other wavelength. Its tallest galaxy, NGC 7319, hosts a supermassive black hole 24 million times the mass of the Sun. It is actively accreting material and emits light energy equivalent to 40 billion suns. MIRI sees through the dust surrounding this black hole to reveal the surprisingly bright active galactic core. It’s so bright, in MIRI’s eyes, that it even has JWST’s signature “spike” pattern.
(Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)
For scientists studying galaxies, every nearby JWST image holds a potential treasure.
The first fine-phase image released by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a single image of a star, complete with six prominent (and two less prominent) diffraction peaks, with background stars and galaxies revealed behind it . The background galaxies were a surprise to astronomers; JWST is imaging the Universe with roughly twice the performance precision for which the design was specified. Even images like this, not originally designed for scientific purposes, can prove useful to astronomers studying the Universe as a unique and unexpected source of data.
(Credit: NASA/STScI)
Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals and no more than 200 words. Talk less; smile more