2022 was a very special year for astronomers – because the new James Webb Space Telescope will provide images from space after its launch in December 2021.
“We found that James Webb is ten times more accurate than we initially thought,” reports astronomer Sasha Hinkley of the University of Exeter in England.
The telescope is larger and also more sensitive than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope.
Thanks to this “upgrade”, groundbreaking recordings of the universe were made in 2022. The highlights at a glance:
DeepSpace
These recordings are the deepest recordings from the universe to date. It has never been possible to see so far. The galaxies in the image are around 4.6 billion light-years from Earth.
Neptune Rings
James Webb was built to see new depths of space. The telescope also provides new insights and images of our known neighbors in the solar system.
This image of the planet Neptune is the most accurate image of its rings.
Unlike Saturn’s rings, Neptune’s rings appear so faint that they cannot actually be seen from Earth.
dust and starlight
These rings are not an optical illusion. It’s dust.
The stars in the center of the image are converging, adding new rings every eight years.
One of the stars is a so-called Wolf-Rayet star. He is in the final phase of his life cycle.
The image allows researchers to observe how starlight moves dust.
“Punctured” galaxy
These photos show a large central galaxy being “pierced” by a smaller one.
The James Webb Telescope managed to document this unique event.
“Pillars of Creation”
Here you can see the so-called “Pillars of Creation”. This is a star-forming region.
Hubble already takes a picture of the region, but the James Webb Telescope’s infrared view makes it possible to see the many twinkling newborn stars.
Source: Sciencenews.org