Bright stars create unique patterns called diffraction spikes, which are produced as light bends around the sharp edges of a telescope. Most reflecting telescopes—including #NASAWebb—show spikes as light interacts with the primary mirror and struts that support the mirror. (1/5) Diagram labeled “Webb’s Diffraction Spikes.” The top r
Light—which has wave-like properties—tends to radiate from a point outward. When light waves interact, they can either become more amplified or cancel each other out. These areas of amplification and cancellation form the light and dark spots in diffraction patterns. (2/5) Diagram headlined “How Does Diffraction Happen?” Underne
Primary mirrors in reflecting telescopes cause light waves to interact as they direct light to the secondary mirror. So, even if a telescope had no struts, it would still create a diffraction pattern. The shape of the mirror and any edges it has determine its pattern. (3/5) Diagram headlined, “Primary Mirror Influence.” Below thi
The number and position of struts holding up the secondary mirror determine the struts’ diffraction spike pattern. When light hits a strut, the light bends into a single, perpendicular pattern of amplified and cancelled light—represented by a yellow/red/blue dashed lines. (4/5) Diagram headlined, “Strut Influence.” Webb’s eight-poi
#NASAWebb’s eight-pointed diffraction spikes are defined by its primary mirror and three struts. Its struts are designed to overlap with the diffraction spikes created by the hexagonal mirrors.

Full “Diffraction Spikes” graphic: webbtelescope.pub/DiffractionSpi…

#UnfoldTheUniverse Diagram headlined, “Webb’s Eight-Pointed Stars.” At th

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More from @SpaceTelescope

Jul 8
#NASAWebb will soon reveal unprecedented and detailed views of the universe, with the upcoming release of its first full-color images and spectroscopic data! Below is the list of objects that Webb targeted for these first observations, which will be released on July 12. (1/8) An illustration of the Jame...
Carina Nebula: One of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars. (2/8)
WASP-96b (spectrum): A giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014. (3/8)
Read 8 tweets
Apr 27
#NASAWebb will revolutionize our understanding of the lifecycles of stars, starting at the very beginning. Protostars like HH 47 eject light-year-long jets even while accumulating the hydrogen needed to begin nuclear fusion and shine. (1/4)

Credit: NASA. Image
With its powerful infrared sensitivity and resolution, #NASAWebb is capable of peering into star-forming regions across our entire galaxy—like R136—where previous infrared telescopes were limited to dust clouds within our own galactic neighborhood. (2/4)

Credit: NASA/ESA. Image
Sunlike stars end their lives by gently ejecting their outer layers to form what’s known as a planetary nebula. #NASAWebb will look at NGC 6302 and nebulas like it to learn how chemical elements are recycled throughout our galaxy. (3/4)

Credit: NASA/ESA. Image
Read 4 tweets
Mar 18
Who is ready to be “thrown” through a loop? A supermassive black hole’s feedback loop to be exact! Decoder: In these images, RED indicates COLD and TEAL indicates HOT. (1/7)
Supermassive black holes, which lie at the centers of galaxies, are voracious! They periodically “sip” or “gulp” from COLD swirling disks of gas and dust that orbit them. Where there’s lots of very cold gas, stars can begin to form—but it also falls onto the black hole. (2/7)
As a result of “nom, nom, noming” on all that delicious cold gas, supermassive black holes launch outflows in the form of radiation, jets, and wind! (It’s gettin’ hot in here!) (3/7)
Read 7 tweets
Mar 10
This was definitely the selfie seen around the world! But HOW was #NASAWebb able to take a selfie? Joe DePasquale, senior science visuals developer at @stsci, digs in! 🧵 <1/9> Image
DePasquale: The press release states that there is a specially designed pupil imaging lens (PIL) in one of Webb’s main imaging instruments known as NIRCam. What is a PIL anyway? <2/9>
DePasquale: PIL then is a specially designed lens whose sole purpose is to provide a clear image of that aperture allowing you to see where light enters the system. You can see it on the lower left side in this diagram of NIRCam. <3/9> Image
Read 9 tweets
Feb 21
We’re all made of star stuff, right? 🌟

As they die, massive stars—at least 8 times bigger than our sun—populate the universe with new elements. How does that happen? We’ll show you each step! 👇🏼 (1/7)

Credit: NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI). Image
Stars don’t normally explode 💥 because they balance two forces: gravity, which wants to crush all of the gas towards the center, and pressure from fusion, which pushes outward.

The first stage of a star’s life is fueled by hydrogen-to-helium fusion. (2/7) Image
Over a star’s lifetime, the core will run out of fuel, contract and heat up, and begin new fusion reactions.

This creates a multi-layered core, with heavier elements fusing in the hot, dense center and shells of lighter elements fusing at cooler temperatures. (3/7) Image
Read 7 tweets
Nov 2, 2021
We have the right tools for the job! @NASAWebb has four instruments that will examine the universe in different ways, thanks to the six components that make up the devices. (1/8)
#WebbInstruments #UnfoldTheUniverse
Cameras: Three Webb instruments have cameras 📷 that will capture two-dimensional images of regions in space. NIRCam and NIRISS will capture images in the near-infrared, while MIRI will capture mid-infrared images. (2/8)
Spectrographs: All four of Webb’s instruments have spectrographs that spread light out into a rainbow-like spectrum 🌈 so the brightness of each individual wavelength can be measured. Webb has different types of spectrographs, each designed for a slightly different purpose. (3/8)
Read 8 tweets

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