posted 01-08-2022 08:27 AM               

Watch James Webb Space Telescope experts give real-time updates on the final step in the observatory’s deployment: the unfolding of the second of Webb’s two primary mirror wings. Engineers in mission control will send commands to deploy the wing and latch it into place, a process that takes several hours. The deployment will complete the mirror's golden honeycomb-like structure, and will mark the end of an unprecedented 14-day unfolding process.

posted 01-24-2022 03:17 PM               

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Originally posted by Headshot:
Does this mean Webb is going slower than originally planned?

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posted 03-16-2022 10:56 AM               

Following the completion of critical mirror alignment steps, the James Webb Space Telescope team has great confidence that the observatory's optical performance will meet or exceed the science goals it was built to achieve.

On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as "fine phasing" – and at this key stage in the commissioning of Webb's Optical Telescope Element, every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations. The team found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb's optical path. The observatory is able to successfully gather light from distant objects and deliver it to its instruments without issue.

Although there are months to go before Webb ultimately delivers its new view of the cosmos, achieving this milestone means the team is confident that Webb's first-of-its-kind optical system is working as well as possible.

posted 06-01-2022 10:28 AM               

First Images From NASA's Webb Space Telescope Coming Soon

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on July 12, 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to its space environment and aligning its mirrors. This careful process, not to mention years of new technology development and mission planning, has built up to the first images and data: a demonstration of Webb at its full power, ready to begin its science mission and unfold the infrared universe.

"As we near the end of preparing the observatory for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our universe. The release of Webb's first full-color images will offer a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a view humanity has never seen before," said Eric Smith, Webb program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent, and dreams – but they will also be just the beginning."

Behind the Scenes: Creating Webb's First Images

Deciding what Webb should look at first has been a project more than five years in the making, undertaken by an international partnership between NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, home to Webb's science and mission operations.

"Our goals for Webb's first images and data are both to showcase the telescope's powerful instruments and to preview the science mission to come," said astronomer Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist at STScI. "They are sure to deliver a long-awaited 'wow' for astronomers and the public."

Once each of Webb's instruments has been calibrated, tested, and given the green light by its science and engineering teams, the first images and spectroscopic observations will be made. The team will proceed through a list of targets that have been preselected and prioritized by an international committee to exercise Webb's powerful capabilities. Then the production team will receive the data from Webb's instrument scientists and process it into images for astronomers and the public.

"I feel very privileged to be a part of it," said Alyssa Pagan, a science visuals developer at STScI. "Typically, the process from raw telescope data to final, clean image that communicates scientific information about the universe can take anywhere from weeks to a month," Pagan said.

What Will We See?

While careful planning for Webb's first full-color images has been underway for a long time, the new telescope is so powerful that it is difficult to predict exactly how the first images will look. "Of course, there are things we are expecting and hoping to see, but with a new telescope and this new high-resolution infrared data, we just won't know until we see it," said STScI's lead science visuals developer Joseph DePasquale.

Early alignment imagery has already demonstrated the unprecedented sharpness of Webb's infrared view. However, these new images will be the first in full color and the first to showcase Webb's full science capabilities. In addition to imagery, Webb will be capturing spectroscopic data – detailed information astronomers can read in light. The first images package of materials will highlight the science themes that inspired the mission and will be the focus of its work: the early universe, the evolution of galaxies through time, the lifecycle of stars, and other worlds. All of Webb's commissioning data – the data taken while aligning the telescope and preparing the instruments – will also be made publicly available.

What's Next?

Science! After capturing its first images, Webb's scientific observations will begin, continuing to explore the mission's key science themes. Teams have already applied through a competitive process for time to use the telescope, in what astronomers call its first "cycle," or first year of observations. Observations are carefully scheduled to make the most efficient use of the telescope's time.

These observations mark the official beginning of Webb's general science operations – the work it was designed to do. Astronomers will use Webb to observe the infrared universe, analyze the data collected, and publish scientific papers on their discoveries.

Beyond what is already planned for Webb, there are the unexpected discoveries astronomers can't anticipate. One example: In 1990 when the Hubble Space Telescope launched, dark energy was completely unknown. Now it is one of the most exciting areas of astrophysics. What will Webb discover?

posted 06-28-2022 11:24 PM               

NASA will host a media day at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) on Wednesday, June 29. The event will begin with a media briefing at 10 a.m. on the status of Webb's commissioning as well as overviews of planned science for Webb's first year of operations and Webb image processing.

posted 07-07-2022 08:27 PM               

NASA Updates Coverage for Webb Telescope's First Images Reveal

NASA, in partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will release the James Webb Space Telescope's first full-color images and spectroscopic data during a live broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 12, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Released one by one, these first images from the world's largest and most powerful space telescope will demonstrate Webb at its full power as it begins its mission to unfold the infrared universe.

Each image will simultaneously be made available on social media, as well as on the agency's website.

The following is a list of activities for the release (all times Eastern):

Friday, July 8

NASA will share the list of cosmic targets for Webb's first images and spectra on the agency's website.

Tuesday, July 12 (Image Release Day)

9:45 a.m. – Live, opening remarks by agency and Webb leadership will air on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website ahead of the first images release.

10:30 a.m. – Live coverage of the image release broadcast will air on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website. The public also can watch live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and Daily Motion.

12 p.m. – Following the live broadcast, NASA and its partners will hold a joint media briefing at NASA Goddard. The briefing will livestream on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website. Participants include:

• Eric Smith, Webb program scientist and Astrophysics Division chief scientist, NASA Headquarters
  
• Knicole Colón, Webb deputy project scientist for exoplanet science, NASA Goddard
  
• René Doyon, principal investigator for the Canadian Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph, University of Montreal
  
• Christopher Evans, Webb project scientist, ESA
  
• Klaus Pontoppidan, Webb project scientist, STScI
  
• Jane Rigby, Webb operations project scientist, NASA Goddard
  
• Amber Straughn, Webb deputy project scientist for communications, NASA Goddard

Members of the public may ask questions on social media using #UnfoldtheUniverse.

Wednesday, July 13

1 p.m.: NASA en español social media event

NASA will broadcast a live social media event in Spanish on its NASA en español YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. Webb experts Begoña Vila and Néstor Espinoza will discuss the release of the first images and take questions from followers.

3 p.m.: NASA Science Live

Webb experts will answer questions about the first images and data in a NASA Science Live show. The broadcast, Webb's First Full-Color Images Explained, will air live on the NASA Science Live website, as well as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Viewers of this episode can submit questions on social media using the hashtag #UnfoldtheUniverse or by leaving a comment in the chat section of the Facebook or YouTube stream.

NASA Social

Social media users can also join a virtual global social event on Facebook to get a behind-the-scenes look at the mission and celebrate Webb's first images.

Webb Community Events

The public can also join in the release of the first full-color images by attending one of the official Webb Space Telescope Community Events taking place across the country this summer. The list of events celebrating Webb's first images is available online and updated frequently.

Webb, an international partnership with ESA and CSA, launched Dec. 25 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. After unfolding into its final form in space and successfully reaching its destination 1 million miles from Earth, the observatory now is completing the months-long process of preparing for science operations. Webb will explore every phase of cosmic history – from within the solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between.

posted 07-08-2022 09:40 AM               

NASA Shares List of Cosmic Targets for Webb Telescope's First Images

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will soon reveal unprecedented and detailed views of the universe, with the upcoming release of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data.

Below is the list of cosmic objects that Webb targeted for these first observations, which will be released in NASA's live broadcast beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 12. Each image will simultaneously be made available on social media as well as on the agency's website.

These listed targets below represent the first wave of full-color scientific images and spectra the observatory has gathered, and the official beginning of Webb's general science operations. They were selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

• Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun.

• WASP-96 b (spectrum). WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014.

• Southern Ring Nebula. The Southern Ring, or "Eight-Burst" nebula, is a planetary nebula – an expanding cloud of gas, surrounding a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and is located approximately 2,000 light years away from Earth.

• Stephan's Quintet: About 290 million light-years away, Stephan's Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus. It is notable for being the first compact galaxy group ever discovered in 1787. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters.

• SMACS 0723: Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a deep field view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations.

The release of these first images marks the official beginning of Webb's science operations, which will continue to explore the mission's key science themes. Teams have already applied through a competitive process for time to use the telescope, in what astronomers call its first "cycle," or first year of observations.

posted 07-10-2022 08:08 PM               

5:30 p.m. EDT – President Joe Biden will release one of Webb's first images in a preview event at the White House in Washington. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will provide remarks. A live stream of the event will be available on NASA TV. The image will be available simultaneously on NASA's website.

posted 07-11-2022 04:20 PM               

President Biden and Vice President Harris receive a briefing from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials and preview the first images from the Webb Space Telescope, the highest-resolution images of the infrared universe ever captured.

posted 07-11-2022 05:26 PM               

This first image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail. Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb's view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

posted 07-12-2022 08:48 AM               

Watch as the mission team reveals the long-awaited first images from the James Webb Space Telescope.

posted 07-12-2022 09:51 AM               

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the distinct signature of water, along with evidence for clouds and haze, in the atmosphere surrounding a hot, puffy gas giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star.

The observation, which reveals the presence of specific gas molecules based on tiny decreases in the brightness of precise colors of light, is the most detailed of its kind to date, demonstrating Webb's unprecedented ability to analyze atmospheres hundreds of light-years away.

posted 07-12-2022 10:05 AM               

The dimmer star at the center of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions, and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is cloaked in dust.

Two cameras aboard Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132, and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is approximately 2,500 light-years away.

posted 07-12-2022 10:18 AM               

Today, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals Stephan's Quintet, a visual grouping of five galaxies, in a new light.

This enormous mosaic is Webb's largest image to date, covering about one-fifth of the Moon's diameter. It contains over 150 million pixels and is constructed from almost 1,000 separate image files. The information from Webb provides new insights into how galactic interactions may have driven galaxy evolution in the early universe.

posted 07-12-2022 10:23 AM               

This landscape of "mountains" and "valleys" speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA's new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.

posted 07-12-2022 01:04 PM               

Southern Ring Nebula, Hubble vs. Webb:

Stephan's Quintent, Hubble vs. Webb:

Carina Nebula, Hubble vs. Webb:

posted 07-13-2022 12:02 PM               

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Here is a side by side, infrared wavelength comparison between Hubble's view of SMACS 0723 and Webb's First Deep Field of the same area:

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