The Webb Team Just Stealthily Dropped a Photograph of Jupiter, And We Can Not Stop Staring
Today we were in a frenzy over a sneaky side-glimpse of a galaxy revealed in the first full-color James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) pictures.
However, if you thought that was wild, then wait on this: it ends up JWST has also went down some stealthy images of Jupiter! And they are ridiculously beautiful.
These photos, taken whereas JWST was being tested, were provided in the JWST commissioning report.
The images, which you might observe in better detail beneath, show Jupiter and its rings and three of its moons: Europa, Thebe, and Metis.
You can also observe the shade of Europa in the picture on the left, just next to the planet’s tumultuous and infamous Great Red Spot.
Above: The image on the left was captured by the JWST Near-Infrared Camera utilizing a filter that highlights short wavelengths. The photo on the right is taken with a filter highlighting long light wavelengths.
The images were taken by JWST’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and they utilize two different filters which emphasize separate wavelengths of light.
Part of the test was guaranteeing that JWST could track fast-moving things by means of the Solar System.
For this, JWST photographed nine targets, and Jupiter was the slowest moving– however, as you can observe, one of the most stunning.
The test also showed that it is possible to utilize JWST to photograph details like moons and rings around a planet as brilliant as Jupiter.
“Seeing a bright planet and its satellites and rings was expected to be difficult, due to scattered light that can affect the science instrument utilized, however also the great guidance sensor must track overview stars near the bright planet,” the appointing report clarifies.
“These observations verified the expectation that guide star procurement works with success as long as Jupiter is at least 140” away from the FGS, consistent with pre-flight modeling.
This is all good news as it indicates JWST will be helpful at tracking things like near-Earth objects and comets.
Generally, the commissioning report shows that JWST is also performing much better than expected.
“The fundamental result of six months of commissioning is this: JWST is totally capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was constructed. JWST was envisioned ‘to enable fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of the development and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planetary systems,” the authors write in the report.
“We right now know surely that it will.”
We are looking forward to more photo drops in the coming weeks and months!
Read the original article on Science Alert.
