JWST commissioning: an important and delicate phase

Описание: 🌍 How was our Universe created? What does it look like beyond our solar system? Does our Universe hide several other inhabited worlds like our own? How can we explain the mysterious forces observed in the cosmos, such as the immense black holes that absorb everything in their vicinity, even light?
The James Webb Space Telescope was designed to answer these and many other questions. This jewel of space technology was developed by NASA with the participation of the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.




🔥 As a reminder, videos are published on SUNDAYS at 6pm.


-------------------------

💥James Webb:
The James Webb Space Telescope, was designed to continue Hubble's work, but better: it carries state-of-the-art instruments that enable it to see in longer wavelengths, including the near, mid and far infrared. When it was launched on December 25, 2021, JAMES WEBB was the largest and most expensive space telescope ever developed. It took more than 25 years to build, and the scientific community now has high hopes for this telescope, which should help us in the coming years to solve the great unsolved mysteries of modern astronomy and trace the complete history of our Universe.
After its launch, it took a year to break it in, calibrate it and learn how to use it to its full potential. The James Webb still has many years ahead of it, as its mission is expected to last 20 years! The first images unveiled by the telescope from July 2022 have not disappointed scientists' hopes, and have impressed the general public with their sharpness, detail and color.
One of the James Webb's primary objectives is to discover the elements essential for life elsewhere than on Earth, in particular on exoplanets orbiting a star similar to our Sun. But that's not all: the space telescope's mission is also to discover the origin of black holes, and to probe the Universe's past further back in time than any other telescope has yet done! The JAMES WEBB should be able to detect the very first galaxies, those born just after the Big Bang, and explore the space-time between these distant galaxies and our solar system, in order to reconstruct the entire history of our Universe.
Since its launch two years ago, the James Webb has continued to surprise astronomers with astonishing discoveries. Its observations have even begun to call into question some astrophysical models, notably those concerning the youth of the cosmos. Indeed, according to observations made thanks to the James Webb, it would appear that everything - the first black holes, the first galaxies - arrived earlier and faster than scientists had previously predicted.

Here's an image of the so-called Pillars of Creation, in the Eagle Nebula or NGC 6611. These columns of interstellar dust are in fact a star-forming zone at the heart of one of the most productive star-forming zones in the Milky Way. This photo dates back to 1995: it was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, the predecessor of the James Webb, which was launched in 1990. Now take a look at this photo taken in October 2022 by the NIRCam infrared camera of the James Webb telescope. The difference is striking: it's like putting on glasses for the first time. A second image was taken by the JAMES WEBB's MIRI instrument, the only one that can see in the mid-infrared. This image is darker and the stars can't be seen as clearly as in the first image, but it's still very impressive.

-------------------------