1/ How did #MIRI become Webb’s Coolest Instrument? 👇
2/ Webb is renowned for its mid-infrared capabilities provided by #MIRI. Mid-infrared light, with wavelengths between 3 & 30 micrometres, allows us to see the Universe in a specific way, with objects that appear dark at visible wavelengths shining brightly in the mid-infrared.
3/ “It's such an exciting wavelength range in terms of the chemistry that you can do, and the way you can understand star formation and what's happening in the nuclei of galaxies,” says Gillian Wright, the Principal Investigator for the European Consortium behind #MIRI
4/ But getting #MIRI on Webb was not easy — from including the mid-infrared wavelengths in Webb's capabilities, to collaborating across different work cultures and dealing with many constraints such as operating temperature and available space.
5. Learn more about MIRI, its development, and what the instrument has in store for us here: esa.int/Science_Explor…
📷 @ESA@esa_webb@NASA@csa_asc J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST Team.
Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
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1/ 🆕 Webb has captured a portion of the dwarf galaxy Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte (WLM) using #NIRCam. The image demonstrates Webb’s remarkable ability to resolve faint stars outside the Milky Way.
2/ The galaxy lies roughly 3 million light-years away and was selected for observations as its gas is similar to that which made up galaxies in the early Universe.
3/#WebbSeesFarther This image shows this portion of the dwarf galaxy captured by Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (left) and Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (right) 🆒
1/ It's Webb FAQ time, where we answer your most frequently asked questions!
Q: What objects will Webb look at? Will it investigate my favourite galaxy?
2/ A: Webb's powerful infrared observations will see farther into our origins: from the formation of stars and planets, to the birth of the first galaxies in the early Universe.
3/ Webb will give us new insights into all sorts of objects, like the Southern Ring Nebula below, but you can check out its observing schedule at stsci.edu/jwst/science-e…
1/ This new Webb picture of the month shows IC 1623, a pair of interacting galaxies, plunging into one another. Their collision has ignited a spate of star formation creating new stars at a rate above 20 times that of the Milky Way. Read more 👉 esawebb.org/images/potm221… and 👇
2/ Astronomers used Webb's #MIRI, #NIRSpec, and #NIRCam instruments to investigate IC 1623. This will allow scientists to unravel the interactions in galactic ecosystems. These observations are also accompanied by data from other observatories, like @HUBBLE_space#BFFinSpace
@HUBBLE_space 3/ The luminous core of this merger is very bright and highly compact, so much so that Webb’s diffraction spikes appear atop the galaxy in this image. The 8-pronged diffraction spikes are created by the interaction of starlight with the physical structure of the telescope.
1/ Webb turns its eye close to home by capturing its first image of Neptune, revealing the ice giant planet in a whole new light. This is the clearest view of this peculiar planet’s rings in more than 30 years. Read more:
2/ The new image, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), shows the crisp view of the planet’s dynamic rings. The Webb images also clearly show Neptune’s fainter dust bands.
3/ Methane gas found inside Neptune is so strongly absorbing that the planet is quite dark at Webb wavelengths (0.6 to 5 microns) except where high-altitude clouds are present. Such clouds are prominent as bright streaks and spots, which reflect sunlight.
1/ Webb has captured its first infrared spectrum of Mars
🔴, providing a unique perspective on our neighbouring planet, that compliments data collected by orbiters, rovers, and other telescopes. Read more: esawebb.org/images/first-o…
2/ This near-infrared spectrum of Mars was captured by NIRSpec on 5 September 2022. The spectrum is dominated by reflected sunlight at wavelengths shorter than 3 microns and thermal emission at longer wavelengths.
3/ The spectral dips appear at specific wavelengths where light is absorbed by molecules in Mars’ atmosphere, specifically carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water. Analysis of the spectrum can tell scientists about the abundance of these molecules.
This detailed new image taken by #Webb peers into the chaos of the Cartwheel Galaxy 🛞 The image unveils secrets about star formation ✨ & the galaxy’s central black hole, providing new insights into a galaxy in the midst of a slow transformation 👇
The Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away in the Sculptor constellation, looks much like the wheel of a wagon. Its appearance results from a high-speed collision between a large spiral galaxy and a second smaller galaxy 👇
Telescopes like @HUBBLE_space have previously examined the Cartwheel, but our view of the galaxy has been obscured by gas and dust 😶🌫️ Webb, with its infrared imaging capabilities, has now uncovered new insights into the galaxy’s nature 👇