The James Webb Space Telescope illuminated 2022 with stunning photos of the early universe following the Big Bang, ushering in a new era of astronomy and paving the way for future years of amazing discoveries about the cosmos.
The Hubble telescope, which is still in use, was replaced by the most potent observatory launched into orbit, and it started relaying its first cosmic photographs in July.
“It essentially behaves better than expected in almost every area,” said Massimo Stiavelli, head of the Webb mission office at the Space Telescope Science Institute, in Baltimore.
The Webb telescope, currently orbiting the sun at a million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth, is expected to endure 20 years, which is double its stated lifetime, according to astronomers.
“The instruments are more efficient, the optics are sharper and more stable. We have more fuel, and we use less fuel,” said Stiavelli.
The clarity of the image depends on stability.
“Our requirement was similar to that of Hubble, in terms of pointing accuracy. And we ended up being seven times better,” the mission office chief added.
The telescopic photos’ coloring has sharpened the public’s hunger for the discovery.
The light from the farthest galaxies has been stretched from the visible spectrum, which can be seen with the unaided eye, to infrared, which Webb is able to observe with unparalleled resolution.
This enables the telescope to investigate the atmosphere of exoplanets, which orbit stars outside our solar system, as well as to see through the dust that obscures the emergence of stars in nebulae and detect the slightest glimmers from the distant universe with an unprecedented resolution.
To read our blog on “James Webb Telescope photographed Tarantula Nebula,” click here.
