James Webb pictures anyone?

[Dockillar]

Hi, I was listening about the James Webb telescope earlier and let me say, I can't WAIT for the pictures. They aren't going to be HD, they are just going to be a few pixels, but just imagine seeing a pale blue/green dot around another star.... I can't wait for the pixel pictures to see new star systems, can you?

[Unit One]

What are you talking about, "a few pixels"?

And if 2,048 x 2,048 isn't enough for you, keep in mind that often times in astronomical observation telescopes will take multiple images to create image mosaics for higher resolutions.

Also, it will only be a blue or green dot if they false-color it that way since the only colors it will be able to see are orange, red, and infrared.

But yes, I can't wait for it to start operating, though I'm very disappointed the telescope won't run longer than 10 years since it won't be serviceable. I hope the L2 orbit is worth it.

[Awaras]

He is talking about the first pictures JW might take of an exoplanet. The exoplanet itself would be just a few pixels wide on those pictures.

[K^2]

He means the image of the object's it sees won't be more than a few pixels.

As for seeing a planet next to a star, this telescope's main mirror is 6.5 meters across. In 1 micron band, this will let the telescope resolve 1 AU from about 100ly. The figure quoted by the site, 0.1" at 2 microns is only slightly bellow this theoretical limit. So yes, in principle, the telescope is large enough and sensitive enough to resolve planets orbiting some relatively nearby stars. Whether it actually performs as expected, we will find out.

[Unit One]

Ah, I misread the OP. Though, isn't Hubble's resolving power also 0.1"? Is the JWST's only advantage that it has a coronagraph and looks in IR, or will the larger mirror provide significantly less noise to actually be able to take advantage of the 0.1" resolution?

I'm honestly much more excited about what it'll provide as far as distant galaxies.

[K^2]

Hubble could resolve 0.1" in 0.5 micron. This makes Webb about 2-3 times better at resolving power, and this increases number of stars where we could look for planets at least 10-fold. Webb should also do much better with high contrast stuff, because Hubble's optics had some problems. Add to that additional features of the sensors, better tracking, more opportunity for image processing, and I think it might just get us to the point where we can actually see a planet.

[Drunkrobot]

You also have to remember that the James Webb will be sitting out at the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point, while Hubble has this big, bright, noisy rock underneath it. Hubble being in LEO is like trying to stargaze in the middle of New York.