NASA celebrates the first anniversary of the James Webb Telescope
It dazzles astronomers with its unprecedented precision (NASA)
Today, Wednesday, the US Space Agency (NASA) publishes a new image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope , exactly a year after it published its first pictures of the universe that stunned the world.
On July 12, 2022, NASA unveiled color images of galaxy clusters and nebulae, which were the first captured by its new space telescope. These snapshots marked the beginning of the scientific operations of this telescope, which is considered a "technological masterpiece", and is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
NASA did not give any details about what the new image it would publish on the first anniversary, and indicated that it would broadcast a video review of the discoveries of the first year. A host of local activities are also held across the United States.
James Webb has been dazzling astronomers with unprecedentedly accurate images since the start of his mission a year ago. It has detected the most distant galaxy ever discovered, measured for the first time the temperature of distant rocky planets, and observed young stars and black holes. James Webb caused a major change in knowledge about the universe, and scientific studies based on observations he carried out increased.
One of the main tasks of the James Webb telescope is to explore the early ages of the universe, while it also focuses on studying exoplanets outside the solar system. It should also help better understand the formation and life cycle of stars.
In addition to these accomplishments, the public, thanks to James Webb, has access to amazing images. In October, the telescope's first image of the "Pillars of Creation" was revealed. Huge columns of gas and dust teeming with forming stars are located in the Milky Way, 6,500 light-years from Earth, in the Eagle Nebula .
The James Webb telescope was sent by an Ariane 5 rocket at the end of 2021, a long journey launched by the US Space Agency more than three decades ago. It succeeds the still-operating Hubble Space Telescope.
The Pillars of Creation, which form huge columns of gas and dust (European Space Agency)
James Webb, which cost $10 billion, is distinguished from its predecessor by its surveillance technology. The Hubble telescope conducts observations in fields where light is visible, while James Webb probes invisible to the naked eye waves of mid- and near-infrared rays, which is a beam emanating from every astronomical body, star, person, or flower. This allows it to detect much weaker lights, and thus allows it to see much further.
Because this wavelength is imperceptible to the human eye, the images are then "translated" into visible colours.
It has provided James Webb with enough fuel to continue his mission for 20 years, during which time he hopes to make more amazing discoveries.
Source : websites