This Tuesday, July 11, marks one year since the first image that the James Webb Space Telescope of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Agency) and the Canadian space agency. Therefore, we are going to make a count of the best achievements of the observatory, in this first year of operations in Earth orbit.
He has a long way to go. His predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to reveal mysteries of outer space after 33 years of operations. So while these early findings are impressive, it’s just the beginning of a lifetime of undiscovered knowledge.
That first picture of James Webb Space Telescopetaken by the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) of the apparatus, was a photo that was put together from several captures recorded in different wavelengths of infrared light. The image shows a cluster of galaxies called SMACS 0723which is located about 4.6 billion light-years from Earth.
The most impressive achievements of the James Webb Space Telescope
It is undoubtedly the most powerful that has been built and its scope will allow us to practically appreciate the beginning of the universe, the areas closest to the Big Bang. These are some of his discoveries.
- The deepest image of the universe ever taken. In July 2022, JWST published the first image of the distant universe, showing galaxies that formed a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. This image is the deepest and sharpest infrared view ever taken of the early universe.
- The first direct image of an exoplanet. In September 2022, JWST released the first direct image of an exoplanet, a world that orbits a star other than the Sun. The celestial body, named WASP-96b, is a gas giant that is about the size of Jupiter. The JWST image of WASP-96b showed its atmosphere, which is rich in water vapor.
- The first spectrum of the atmosphere of an exoplanet. In October 2022, JWST published the first spectrum of an exoplanet’s atmosphere. The spectrum, which was taken from the planet WASP-39b, showed the presence of water vapor, carbon monoxide, and methane. This is the first time that scientists have been able to directly measure the composition of an exoplanet’s atmosphere.
- The first images of the Carina Nebula. In December 2022, JWST released the first images of the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region located about 7,600 light-years from Earth. The images showed never-before-seen details of the nebula, including stars about to be born and clouds of gas and dust that are being illuminated by newborn stars.
- The first images of Stephan’s Quintet. In January 2023, JWST published the first images of Stephan’s Quintet, a group of five interacting galaxies. The images showed the galaxies in unprecedented detail, including their individual stars and spiral arms.