Jump to content

The James Webb Space Telescope and stuff


Streetwind

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Old models are being shown to be obsolete by Webb data.  Fortunately Webb is providing much more accurate data to construct new models.

Why do I get the idea that the old models are only as accurate as they are thanks to Hubble data?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, wumpus said:

Old models are being shown to be obsolete by Webb data.  Fortunately Webb is providing much more accurate data to construct new models.

Why do I get the idea that the old models are only as accurate as they are thanks to Hubble data?

Did you just say 'we only know as much as we know when we know it?' 

Grin! 

I'm fairly sure that our current grasp of Cosmology was greatly influenced by Hubble data (but we've also had numerous other very recent tools added besides Webb that should continue to shake our complacency!) Note: I did not limit my statement above to 'having the tools to show it' - b/c even if 50 years ago someone claiming that a supermassive BH sat in the center of the galaxy 'would have been staking their career on it' because the theory was there - just not the proof or the details! 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/in.mashable.com/space/32078/he-found-a-milky-way-black-hole-50-years-ago-and-finally-got-to-see-it%3famp=1

I really do think we are in an exciting time with Webb and EHT and the laser inferometry: a new level of granularity that I hope will lead to eureka, not merely refinement or confirmation. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So we just need to send an atmospheric probe to the nearest exoplanet and calibrate the models. They should get on to it, if they want to reach the destination before Webb runs out of propellant.

/jk, ofc

 

On a serious note, I find it mind boggling that they manage to capture any data whatsoever regarding atmosphere on planets so far away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Shpaget said:

On a serious note, I find it mind boggling that they manage to capture any data whatsoever regarding atmosphere on planets so far away

From what I gather from the article... The research team felt the same!

(See the two articles on the exoplanets I link on the previous page} 

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-puzzled-james-webb-stuff

Such behemoths emerging so rapidly defies expectations set by cosmologists’ standard model of the universe’s evolution. Called Lambda CDM (LCDM), this model incorporates scientists’ best estimates for the properties of dark energy and dark matter, which collectively act to dominate the emergence of large-scale cosmic structures. (“Lambda” refers to dark energy and “CDM” refers to dark matter that is relatively sluggish, or “cold.”) “Even if you took everything that was available to form stars and snapped your fingers instantaneously, you still wouldn’t be able to get that big that early,” says Michael Boylan-Kolchin, a cosmologist at the University of Texas at Austin. “It would be a real revolution.”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jwsts-first-glimpses-of-early-galaxies-could-break-cosmology/

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While we are waiting for the impact pictures... 

Mars. 

mars_2022-506_FINAL.png

Webb’s instruments are so sensitive that without special observing techniques, the bright infrared light from Mars is blinding, causing a phenomenon known as “detector saturation.” Astronomers adjusted for Mars’ extreme brightness by using very short exposures, measuring only some of the light that hit the detectors

WebbMarsSpectra_Wide_FINAL-1200x781.png

This infrared spectrum was obtained by combining measurements from all six of the high-resolution spectroscopy modes of Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). Preliminary analysis of the spectrum shows a rich set of spectral features that contain information about dust, icy clouds, what kind of rocks are on the planet’s surface, and the composition of the atmosphere. The spectral signatures – including deep valleys known as absorption features – of water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide are easily detected with Webb. 

 

--from the Blog. 

@Shpaget

Who was it who said that all we needed to do was visit a planet to confirm Webb's findings?  Looks like they were listening! 

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

New stuff about / from Webb.  The articles are definitely worth the read!

 

 

The James Webb Space Telescope spied the earliest born stars yet seen | Science News

100622_lg_glob-cluster_inline1.jpg

Quote

Zooming into one part of JWST’s image of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, astronomers zeroed in on the yellow dots around this one elongated background galaxy, which they called the Sparkler. Some of the dots may be globular clusters of same-age stars formed just a few hundred years after the Big Bang

 

chandrawebb-labeled.jpg?auto=webp&width=

Quote

 

Toffee-hued cliffs of the Carina Nebula and fairy-dusted galaxies of Stephan's Quintet are ever ingrained as the JWST's first dance with deep space, and our first dance with the JWST. That said, thanks to data collected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the agency managed to enhance some of those brilliant JWST starter pics.

With positively electrifying results.

Behold, a new and improved version of the JWST's Carina Nebula, Stephan's Quintet, and deep field SMACS 0723.3–7327 from image set No. 1, as well as an updated iteration of the slightly more recent Cartwheel Galaxy portrait.

 

NASA Enhances James Webb Space Telescope Images With X-ray Filter - CNET

 

How Webb images are processed:

streched_allfilters_colored.png&w=1080&q

How NASA’S JWST photos get their iconic look - The Verge

 

Quote

 

Because people can’t see infrared, researchers like Pagan have to make choices about how to translate that data into something visible. By understanding these choices, viewers can decode much more information than just the beautiful image itself. 

The colors, for instance, are something Pagan often gets questions about. JWST captures multiple exposures of narrowband data, meaning very small ranges of wavelengths within the infrared spectrum that correlate to the presence of specific elements — forms of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. These are then colored according to a principle called chromatic ordering. Shorter wavelengths, like oxygen, are assigned to colors with shorter wavelengths, like blue, and so on. These are then overlaid to form the basis of the image.

 

 

 

 

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, NFUN said:

I'm not sure an article talking about stars formed a few hundred years after the big bang is worth a read

You're in a forum full of spaceflight and science enthusiasts and professionals.  I really don't know what to say xD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's also quite noticeable that Webb doesn't see just more, but also different stars than Hubble. The "blue" stars in the Webb image correspond to the "red" stars in the Hubble version pretty closely. But even the most prominent of Webb's "yellow" objects don't seem to show up in the other image at all.

That's of course to be expected but it's still interesting to see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Good news, the MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy mode has been fixed (or I think it's more correct to say they found a way to avoid the problem with the stuck filter mechanism). I guess they set damping to 0, angle to max and toggled the 'Locked' button a few times, like one does with failing robotic parts :D

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

MicrosoftTeams-image-28.png

 

A portion of the dwarf galaxy Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte (WLM) captured by the Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera (left) and the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (right). The images demonstrate Webb’s remarkable ability to resolve faint stars outside the Milky Way.

We can see a myriad of individual stars of different colors, sizes, temperatures, ages, and stages of evolution; interesting clouds of nebular gas within the galaxy; foreground stars with Webb’s diffraction spikes; and background galaxies with neat features like tidal tails.

We already studied this exact same field very carefully with Hubble. Now we’re looking at the near-infrared light with Webb, and we’re using WLM as a sort of standard for comparison (like you would use in a lab) to help us make sure we understand the Webb observations. We want to make sure we’re measuring the stars’ brightnesses really, really accurately and precisely. We also want to make sure that we understand our stellar evolution models in the near-infrared.

 

From the blog.

James Webb Space Telescope (nasa.gov)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

weic2219a.jpg

Protostar. 

 

Given its age and its brightness in far-infrared light, L1527 is considered a class 0 protostar, the earliest stage of star formation. Protostars like these, which are still cocooned in a dark cloud of dust and gas, have a long way to go before they become fully-fledged stars. L1527 doesn’t generate its own energy through the nuclear fusion of hydrogen yet, an essential characteristic of stars. Its shape, while mostly spherical, is also unstable, taking the form of a small, hot, and puffy clump of gas somewhere between 20% and 40% of the mass of our Sun.

https://esawebb.org/news/weic2219/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

weic2219a.jpg

Protostar. 

 

Given its age and its brightness in far-infrared light, L1527 is considered a class 0 protostar, the earliest stage of star formation. Protostars like these, which are still cocooned in a dark cloud of dust and gas, have a long way to go before they become fully-fledged stars. L1527 doesn’t generate its own energy through the nuclear fusion of hydrogen yet, an essential characteristic of stars. Its shape, while mostly spherical, is also unstable, taking the form of a small, hot, and puffy clump of gas somewhere between 20% and 40% of the mass of our Sun.

https://esawebb.org/news/weic2219/

Wow I really like how Debdeb is turning out :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...