May 18, 2023 by Alice
About James Webb
About James Webb, by Alice
What is the James Webb Space Telescope and why is it so popular?
JWST is a telescope that works in infrared and has a primary mirror of about 6.5 meters. It was launched on December 25, 2021, from an ESA spaceport. Placed at the Lagrange 2 point (equilibrium point for objects smaller than the reference object, here for the Earth-JWST system), Webb is 1.6 million kilometers away from us and is the most powerful space telescope to be launched so far. It is a premiere in research because it allows astronomers from all across the globe to study the history of the Universe, from the Big Bang to the formation of star systems, to our solar system. Webb can teach us about the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system, with the hope of finding the beginning of life elsewhere in the Universe. Of course, James Webb will continue to explore our solar system, as we still have much to discover.
What has James Webb discovered so far?
From data about the early universe and the evolution of galaxies to the atmospheres of exoplanets and the formation of young stars, astronomers shared the discoveries they made with the help of this telescope.
The connection between distant and nearby galaxies Through JWST it was discovered that the distant galaxies are very young and resemble “green peas”, due to their green color and relatively small size. From the spectral analysis of these galaxies, it is believed that these may be the most primitive galaxies discovered and that they may be connected with older, nearby galaxies, which we can study in much more detail.
Inside the molecular clouds A team of researchers managed to analyze the deepest and coldest elements inside molecular clouds. In addition to water, a variety of molecules have been identified, from ammonium and methane to the simplest elements such as methanol. This was the most in-depth survey of the ‘ingredients’ available for the creation of stars and planets before they are combined to form young stars.
The disks around the planets Webb analyzed the disk around a red dwarf to determine its composition and how it formed. By studying it, we can determine the evolution of the planetary system. Through the detail that Webb managed to surprise, the researchers managed to directly observe planets with wide orbits, which are much smaller in mass compared to Jupiter and Saturn. This can be a new way to identify and direct image low-mass stars.
The first exoplanet photographed by James Webb Researchers have confirmed the discovery of an exoplanet about the size of Earth, using JWST. After the TESS telescope proposed the existence of this planet, Webb managed to identify it only after observing two of its transits. The discovery of this Earth-sized telluric planet opens up new possibilities in the study of planetary atmospheres, as Webb brings us closer to understanding Earth-like worlds outside our solar system.
Star formation In the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, there are lower concentrations of hydrogen and helium than in our galaxy. That’s why researchers thought they would find a slight amount of particles of cosmic dust that would probably be hard to detect, but Webb proved otherwise. They found that the conditions could represent those that existed billions of years ago when the universe was at the “peak” of star formation. This allows us to observe the formation of smaller stars, the size of one-tenth of our Sun, but also of planets (this means that there is a possibility that telluric planets were formed earlier than we thought!).
Thus, James Webb made a great contribution to the realm of astronomy in a very short time. We look forward to seeing what discoveries this impressive telescope brings.
References
https://webb.nasa.gov/content/about/index.html
https://www.space.com/news/live/james-webb-space-telescope-updates
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/webb-unveils-dark-side
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/new-webb-image-reveals-dusty-disk-like-never-seen-before
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/nasa-s-webb-confirms-its-first-exoplanet
Images courtesy of NASA