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NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Sep 19

@NASAMars

Webb got its first look at @NASAMars! 👀

The close-up on the left reveals surface features such as Huygens Crater, dark volcanic Syrtis Major, and Hellas Basin, while the “heat map" on the right shows light being given off by Mars as it loses heat. More: go.nasa.gov/3xz18kU

Webb’s unique perspective is meant to complement the work that rovers and other missions do. From where it sits, Webb can study short-term events like dust storms, weather patterns, as well as seasonal changes.

This spectrum, which combines data measured by Webb’s NIRSpec instrument, shows the signatures of water, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in Mars’ atmosphere! The data also gives us information about the planet’s dust, clouds, rocks and more.

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NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Sep 1

Talk about out of this world! This is Webb’s first direct image of a planet outside of our solar system, and it hints at Webb’s future possibilities for studying distant worlds: go.nasa.gov/3KGJ9OU

Not what you expected? Let’s walk through the details👇

This is a gas giant named HIP 65426 b, which is about 6-12 times the mass of Jupiter. It is young as planets go — about 15 to 20 million years old, compared to our 4.5-billion-year-old Earth.

Each of Webb's 4 views is at a different wavelength of infrared light. The white star is the location of the host star. Its light is blocked by Webb’s coronagraphs, or tiny masks. The bar shapes in the NIRCam views are artifacts of the telescope optics, not physical objects.

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NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Aug 2

https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1554469773433606144

Did somebody say new Webb images?

#ICYMI, we just dropped an incredible new Cartwheel Galaxy image, and yes, more images will be rolling out over the coming weeks! But there’s a few things you should know first about Webb’s next steps 👇

https://twitter.com/NASAWebb/status/1554469773433606144

Science is a collaborative process! You may have seen some preliminary findings from Webb data already. But before NASA can publicize news results, we have to wait for findings to be peer-reviewed — meaning that scientists have checked each other’s work.

Where can I find Webb images and data?

First images gallery: bit.ly/3v9F2UQ
Test data: go.nasa.gov/3PjB0kP
Ongoing data (technical): bit.ly/3z7VXs4

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NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Jul 12

Put a ring on it! 💍

Compare views of the Southern Ring nebula and its pair of stars by Webb’s NIRCam (L) & MIRI (R) instruments. The dimmer, dying star is expelling gas and dust that Webb sees through in unprecedented detail: nasa.gov/webbfirstimage… #UnfoldTheUniverse

The stars – and their layers of light – steal more attention in the NIRCam image, while in the MIRI image, Webb reveals for the first time that the dying star is cloaked in dust. In thousands of years, these delicate, gaseous layers will dissipate into surrounding space.

The Southern Ring nebula is a planetary nebula. (Despite “planet” in the name, these aren’t planets — they're shells of dust and gas shed by dying Sun-like stars.) The new details from Webb will transform our understanding of how stars evolve and influence their environments.

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NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Jul 11

👀 Sneak a peek at the deepest & sharpest infrared image of the early universe ever taken — all in a day’s work for the Webb telescope. (Literally, capturing it took less than a day!) This is Webb’s first image released as we begin to #UnfoldTheUniverse: nasa.gov/webbfirstimage…

This isn’t the farthest back we’ve observed. Non-infrared missions like COBE & WMAP saw the universe closer to the Big Bang (~380,000 years after), when there was only microwave background radiation, but no stars or galaxies. Webb sees a few 100 million years after the Big Bang.

If you held a grain of sand up to the sky at arm’s length, that tiny speck is the size of Webb’s view in this image. Imagine — galaxies galore within a grain, including light from galaxies that traveled billions of years to us!

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NASA Webb Telescope

@NASAWebb

Apr 28

“It’s full of stars!” ✨

This mosaic represents a sparkling turning point as we #UnfoldTheUniverse. #NASAWebb’s mirrors are now fully aligned! Next is instrument calibration, the final phase before Webb is ready for science: go.nasa.gov/3OJWBD1

What do we see here? ⤵️

First, a quick breakdown. “Fully aligned” means that Webb’s mirrors are now directing fully focused light collected from space down into each instrument. Each instrument is also successfully capturing images with the light being delivered to them.

In this mosaic, each engineering image is a demonstration that one of Webb’s instruments is fully aligned with the telescope and in focus. In view is a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small, irregular satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

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