James Webb Space Telescope

The JWST is a space telescope dedicated to observations in the infrared. Developed by NASA in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), it was launched on 25 December 2021. On 24 January 2022, it reached the L2 point, where it deployed its components, comprising the heat shield and the primary and secondary mirrors. The instruments needed time to cool down to their optimum temperature and, on 12 July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope finally revealed its first images:

The Universe: SMACS 0723 cluster of galaxies ?

This image shows a large number of superposed objects at different distances, stars in the foreground, galaxies ? in a galaxy ? cluster and background galaxies ? deformed by the galaxy ? cluster. The background of space is black, with thousands of small galaxies ? , some orange, others white. Most appear as blurred ovals, while some have distinctive spiral arms.

Exoplanets

  • JWST observes exoplanet transits

Observation of the transit by the gas giant planet WASP-96 b in front of its Sun-type star, revealed the presence of water in the planet’s atmosphere.

(NASA STScI)
(NASA STScI)

With the same NIRISS spectrograph, JWST also showed that LHS 1140 b is the first serious candidate for an ocean-planet.

  • JWST also uses imaging observations

Its MIRI infrared camera observed Epsilon Indi Ab only12 light-years ? away from the Sun: this cold super-giant situated more than 20 au ? from its star, therefore emits little radiation, making it very hard to obtain images.