NASA on Monday released the deepest, and the sharpest infrared view of the Universe to date captured through NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the world’s largest and most powerful space science telescope. The rare image named ‘Webb’s First Deep Field’ showcases thousands of galaxies including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared, reportedly of early cosmos formed after Big Bang.
Releasing the first full-color image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on Monday, US President Joe Biden praised the country and said that these unique images are going to remind the world that America can do big things. “We can see possibilities no one has ever seen before. We can go places no one has ever gone before”, he said during a public event at the White House in Washington.
The first image from the Webb Space Telescope represents a historic moment for science and technology. For astronomy and space exploration.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 11, 2022
And for America and all humanity. pic.twitter.com/cI2UUQcQXj
According to the reports, the picture depicts SMACS 0723, a 4.6 billion-year-old galaxy cluster that acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying the considerably more distant and extremely faint objects behind it. Webb’s sharp near-infrared view has also brought out faint structures in extremely distant galaxies, offering the most detailed view of the early universe to date.
“Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground”, the official statement by NASA read.
Elaborating more about the achievement, NASA’s Administrator Bill Nelson said that the image captured was just a tiny sliver of the so vast universe. “This mission was made possible by human ingenuity – the incredible NASA Webb team and our international partners at the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Webb is just the start of what we can accomplish in the future when we work together for the benefit of humanity”, he added.
Meanwhile, John Mather, Webb’s senior project scientist at NASA stated that scientists were first thrilled to know that Webb was alive and that it has survived all hazards to be one golden eye in the sky. He added that with the help of Webb, the scientists and researchers will be able to get answers to many questions like- ‘What happened after the big bang? How did the expanding universe cool down and make black holes and galaxies and stars and planets and people?’
It’s here–the deepest, sharpest infrared view of the universe to date: Webb’s First Deep Field.
— NASA (@NASA) July 11, 2022
Previewed by @POTUS on July 11, it shows galaxies once invisible to us. The full set of @NASAWebb‘s first full-color images & data will be revealed July 12: https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I pic.twitter.com/zAr7YoFZ8C
“Astronomers see everything twice- first with pictures, and then with imagination and calculation. But there’s something out there that we’ve never imagined, and I will be as amazed as you are when we find it”, he added.
To note, the James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s leading observatory for space science. Reports mention that Webb will investigate mysteries in our solar system, as well as distant worlds orbiting other stars, and will investigate the intriguing architecture and origins of our universe and our position in it.
The telescope was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America, on December 25, 2021. It underwent months of commissioning after completing a difficult deployment procedure in orbit when its mirrors were adjusted and its sensors were prepped for science. Its cost is estimated at around $10 billion.
The recent picture released by NASA depicts the 4.6 billion-year-old galaxy cluster named SMACS 0723. According to the reports, the researchers will soon discover more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions as Webb searches deeply for the universe’s first galaxies.
