On July 12, we received our first series of scientific images from the Webb Space Telescope, including distant galaxies, nebulae, and active star-forming regions.
But in fact, the Webb telescope team also quietly threw out a few pictures of Jupiter, which were not specially announced because they were taken during the test, but they are obviously very beautiful, showing the ability of the Webb telescope to track celestial bodies in the solar system.
The first full-color image and new spectral data from the Webb Telescope (JWST) were released at 10:30 a.m. ET on July 12, including the young star-forming region of the Carina Nebula named NGC 3324, Stephan’s Quintet ), the Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132), the hot and massive WASP-96 b exoplanet, and the first JWST deep-field image.
Galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, filled with spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, and other objects, was announced by US President Joe Biden at a White House briefing.
For the performance test of tracking a moving target, Webb’s near-infrared camera (NIRCam) took 2 images at 2 wavelengths, using the filter F212N for the shorter wavelength and F323N for the longer wavelength, with an exposure time of only 75 seconds.
Although these Jupiter photos are relatively rough and cannot be compared with the officially released images, we can still see Europa and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, and identify Jupiter’s unique stripes.
The commissioning report shows that the JWST performed better than expected, which means that the JWST can also help track near-Earth objects and comets. Astronomers are looking forward to seeing more images from the Webb telescope in the coming weeks and months.
Although these Jupiter photos are relatively rough and cannot be compared with the officially released images, we can still see Europa and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, and identify Jupiter’s unique stripes.
The commissioning report shows that the JWST performed better than expected, which means that the JWST can also help track near-Earth objects and comets. Astronomers are looking forward to seeing more images from the Webb telescope in the coming weeks and months.
Webb Telescope vs Hubble Space Telescope Image Comparison
Image Source: stsci.edu
