Written By: Divya Pothula
NASA recently unveiled pictures from the James Webb Telescope on July 12th, 2022, one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. These pictures are the first full color images and spectroscopic data of our galaxies that the NASA observatory has discovered. These pictures aim to answer all the questions astronomers and science professionals have been trying to answer for the past half century. The information we can get from these pictures illuminates the potential it has to answer fascinating questions about the history of the cosmos and how society is participating in it. The pictures that were released illustrate that millions of tiny galaxies exist, which open to a new door of discoveries in astronomy and space exploration.
Within the electromagnetic spectrum, light is able to travel through various frequencies. The most common band of spectrum is visible light. Many other frequencies and forms of light in the electromagnetic spectrum exist.The James Webb Telescope is able to see the universe in a longer wavelength, more specifically infrared light. This telescope is able to view bright objects such as distant galaxies. In space, infrared light is able to go through objects since visible light is sometimes blocked by things like space and dust. Due to a longer wavelength that infrared light has, it can distinguish objects beyond clouds and dust. This allows the images to appear much more clearer and visually appealing than other telescopes that came before this.
Since this telescope has the ability to see much deeper into the universe, it has a significant impact on the studies of cosmology, astronomy and any research done on space exploration. "JWST’s ability to peer back and glimpse the youngest galaxies ever spotted in the dawn of the Universe is exciting beyond words," said Matt Bothwell, astronomer at University of Cambridge. "It is the best tool the human race has ever built for learning about our cosmic origins — understanding where galaxies, stars, planets, and life come from.
The James Webb Telescope has the potential to reveal things about our universe we have never known before, furthering our contribution to science!
MLA Citations:
Barrett, A., 2022. What's so special about the James Webb Space Telescope's new images? We asked the experts | BBC Science Focus Magazine. [online] Sciencefocus.com. Available at: <https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/whats-so-special-about-james-webb-space-telescope-images/> [Accessed 5 August 2022].
Rmg.co.uk. 2022. The James Webb Space Telescope vs the Hubble Space Telescope. [online] Available at: <https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/james-webb-space-telescope-vs-hubble-space-telescope> [Accessed 5 August 2022].
Garner, R., 2022. NASA’s Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet. [online] NASA. Available at: <https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-delivers-deepest-infrared-image-of-universe-yet> [Accessed 5 August 2022].
Dunbar, B., 2022. First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope. [online] NASA. Available at: <https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages> [Accessed 5 August 2022].