The James Webb Space Telescope

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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled to launch no earlier than December 24, following a two-day delay, with a critical launch window extending to January 6 due to gravitational concerns. Enthusiasm is high among the community, with many eagerly anticipating the scientific data it will provide, despite concerns over the lengthy wait and significant costs associated with the project. Initial observing time has been allocated for various proposals, including a major project called Cosmos Web, which aims to capture detailed images of the early universe. The mission's success is seen as a gamble, with many previous missions sacrificed for JWST funding, raising questions about the return on investment. As the launch approaches, excitement and nervousness are palpable, with many setting alarms to witness the event live.
  • #501
Article today https://phys.org/news/2024-09-webb-reveals-distorted-galaxy-cosmic.html

1725538951640.png



Previously images using Chandra, VLT and HST
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/483/3/3082/5234233
 
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Astronomy news on Phys.org
  • #503
The smaller spiral on the left, catalogued as IC 2163, is moving behind NGC 2207, the spiral galaxy on the right.


1730727416268.png
 
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  • #504
Sombrero galaxy is around 30 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.

1732714091447.png


From phys.org this week.

"General Observer time with Webb is more competitive than ever. A record-breaking 2,377 proposals were submitted by the 15 October 2024 deadline, requesting about 78,000 hours of observation time. This is an oversubscription rate—the ratio defining the observation hours requested versus the actual time available in one year of Webb's operations—of around 9 to 1."
 
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  • #505
pinball1970 said:
Sombrero galaxy is around 30 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.

View attachment 353917

From phys.org this week.

"General Observer time with Webb is more competitive than ever. A record-breaking 2,377 proposals were submitted by the 15 October 2024 deadline, requesting about 78,000 hours of observation time. This is an oversubscription rate—the ratio defining the observation hours requested versus the actual time available in one year of Webb's operations—of around 9 to 1."
Wow, this is awesome. Folks are wanting to use Webb more than there is time in a year. Hopefully, this means the telescope can be used for a few decades just as Hubble is almost 35 years old.
 
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  • #506
AlexB23 said:
Wow, this is awesome. Folks are wanting to use Webb more than there is time in a year. Hopefully, this means the telescope can be used for a few decades just as Hubble is almost 35 years old.
Your logic escapes me. The fact that it is oversubscribed (and will likely remain so for decades, if we are lucky enough to have it last that long) has no bearing on its longevity.
 
  • #507
phinds said:
Your logic escapes me. The fact that it is oversubscribed (and will likely remain so for decades, if we are lucky enough to have it last that long) has no bearing on its longevity.
It increases the probability of repair missions.
 
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  • #508
phinds said:
Your logic escapes me. The fact that it is oversubscribed (and will likely remain so for decades, if we are lucky enough to have it last that long) has no bearing on its longevity.
Yeah, but the government may fund the telescope for longer if it remains so popular.
 
  • #509
Frabjous said:
It increases the probability of repair missions.
Aren't repair missions out of the question with regards to its location?
 
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  • #510
Arjan82 said:
Aren't repair missions out of the question with regards to its location?
Depends what you mean by repair, they can do things remotely, I would check out the work arounds they did remotely to Voyager 2. More primitive kit and further away (a lot)
 
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  • #511
Arjan82 said:
Aren't repair missions out of the question with regards to its location?
Manned missions are out. There has been mention of an unmanned refueling mission (which would be difficult and is not currently planned)
 
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  • #512

Latest James Webb data hints at new physics in Universe’s expansion

This latest study serves as a critical cross-check to the April paper, using three different measurements to determine distances to galaxies known to be hosts to supernovae. "Cross-checking Hubble might sound prosaic, but the Hubble results demonstrate a profound tension in the Universe between how fast it is expanding now (measured by Hubble) versus the prediction from the standard model, LambdaCDM (calibrated by the Cosmic Microwave Background)," lead author Adam Riess, of the Space Science Telescope Institute at Johns Hopkins University, told Ars. "So Webb confirming Hubble means we are really seeing something amiss in the Universe."
1733769477758.jpeg

(And still a nice image, even if this JWST news is not as such about beautiful image details)
 
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  • #514
AlexB23 said:
Yeah, but the government may fund the telescope for longer if it remains so popular.
It will get funding as long as the telescope can take data. Essentially every spacecraft does, because operating them is much cheaper than building them.
 
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  • #515
AlexB23 said:
Yeah, but the government may fund the telescope for longer if it remains so popular.

The original mission was about 5-10 years but....

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was designed for a mission of at least five years, with a goal of 10 years. However, after the successful launch and commissioning of the telescope, the Webb team determined that the observatory should have enough propellant to support science operations in orbit for more than 20 years.

EDIT: "An L2 orbit is unstable, so JWST needs to use propellant to maintain its halo orbit around L2 (known as station-keeping) to prevent the telescope from drifting away from its orbital position.[189] It was designed to carry enough propellant for 10 years,[190] but the precision of the Ariane 5 launch and the first midcourse correction were credited with saving enough onboard fuel that JWST may be able to maintain its orbit for around 20 years instead.[191][192][193] Space.com called the launch "flawless".[194]"

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope

which referenced.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2021/12...l-likely-to-extend-its-lifetime-expectations/
 
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  • #516
mfb said:
It will get funding as long as the telescope can take data. Essentially every spacecraft does, because operating them is much cheaper than building them.

Well, let's hope that remains the case. Chandra X-ray telescope had a pretty close call of being decommissioned due to funding, even though it was quite operational.

chandra_hero-1200x675.jpg


"Scientists breathed a collective sigh of relief last week when NASA announced that the Chandra X-ray Observatory had been spared the chopping block — at least for another year. It was an abrupt about-face from plans announced in March to decommission the space-based telescope by this December.​
"Much of the credit for the 11th-hour stay of execution goes to a grassroots movement that dramatically demonstrated how public opinion can impact science funding. After receiving word last spring that Chandra was slated for termination, scientists and the public erupted in protest. Organized in part under the banner and hashtag of #SaveChandra, letters, petitions, and phone calls poured into Congress."​
Source: https://www.astronomy.com/science/c...acing-chopping-block-gets-reprieve-from-nasa/
 
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  • #517
mfb said:
It will get funding as long as the telescope can take data. Essentially every spacecraft does, because operating them is much cheaper than building them.
Agreed. No wonder why Voyager 1 and 2 are both running in 2024. :) I hope those probes run until 2030.
 
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  • #518
pinball1970 said:
The original mission was about 5-10 years but....

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was designed for a mission of at least five years, with a goal of 10 years. However, after the successful launch and commissioning of the telescope, the Webb team determined that the observatory should have enough propellant to support science operations in orbit for more than 20 years.

EDIT: "An L2 orbit is unstable, so JWST needs to use propellant to maintain its halo orbit around L2 (known as station-keeping) to prevent the telescope from drifting away from its orbital position.[189] It was designed to carry enough propellant for 10 years,[190] but the precision of the Ariane 5 launch and the first midcourse correction were credited with saving enough onboard fuel that JWST may be able to maintain its orbit for around 20 years instead.[191][192][193] Space.com called the launch "flawless".[194]"

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope

which referenced.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2021/12...l-likely-to-extend-its-lifetime-expectations/
I am glad that the JWST has the capability of running for 20 years. That means the telescope could last well until the 2030s, or even 2041.
 
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  • #519
From Wiki “NGC 602 is a young, bright open cluster of stars located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way.

Radiation and shock waves from the stars of NGC 602 have pushed away much of the lighter surrounding gas and dust that is N90,

this in turn has triggered new star formation in the ridges”

There some Chandra images https://phys.org/news/2024-12-nasa-missions-cosmic-wreath-displaying.html

This one from Webb.
1734534398497.png
 
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  • #522
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  • #523
Another fantastic treat from JWST:
1744739130601.png

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken the most detailed image of planetary nebula NGC 1514 to date thanks to its unique mid-infrared observations. Webb shows its rings as intricate clumps of dust. It’s also easier to see holes punched through the bright pink central region.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/with-nasas-webb-dying-stars-energetic-display-comes-into-full-focus/
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/...-james-webb-space-telescope-worth-10-billion/
 
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  • #525
AlexB23 said:
That nebula looks like a hamburger or a yo-yo. Beautiful stuff.
I was thinking an apple cut in half with the seeds in the middle. :smile:
 
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  • #526
DAH said:
I was thinking an apple cut in half with the seeds in the middle. :smile:
Yeah, it looks like that as well. Interstellar Rorschach test.
 
  • #528
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  • #529
DennisN said:
More recent about 55 Cancri:

Renyu Hu, et. al. "A secondary atmosphere on the rocky Exoplanet 55 Cancrie", 8 May 2024 (Nature)



Abstract:

Characterizing rocky exoplanets is a central endeavor of astronomy, and yet the search for atmospheres on rocky exoplanets has hitherto resulted in either tight upper limits on the atmospheric mass 1–3 or inconclusive results 4–6. The 1.95-REarth and 8.8-MEarth planet 55 Cnc e, with a predominantly rocky composition and an equilibrium temperature of ~2000 K, may have a volatile envelope (containing molecules made from a combination of C, H, O, N, S, and P elements) that accounts for up to a few percent of its radius 7–13. The planet has been observed extensively with transmission spectroscopy 14–22, and its thermal emission has been measured in broad photometric bands 23–26. These observations disfavor a primordial H2/He-dominated atmosphere but cannot conclusively determine whether the planet has a secondary atmosphere27,28. Here we report a thermal emission spectrum of the planet obtained by JWST’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments from 4 to 12 μm. The measurements rule out the scenario where the planet is a lava world shrouded by a tenuous atmosphere made of vaporized rock29–32, and indicate a bona fide volatile atmosphere likely rich in CO2 or CO. This atmosphere can be outgassed from and sustained by a magma ocean.




So, maybe lots of soda cans opened there, or lots of combustion engines? Or both? :smile:
Seriously, I think it's fascinating.

Edit: The planet in question is 55 Cancri e.

Edit 2:

And an article:

Webb discovers evidence of an atmosphere around a rocky super-Earth planet orbiting a Sun-like star
(BBC Sky At Night Magazine, by Iain Todd, May 8, 2024)

Analyzing exoplanetary atmospheres is a really exciting field. One I haven't really dug into with any diligence. (Within the rather tight limitation of my abilities that is.)
 
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  • #531
The bullet cluster is an important structure when it comes to Dark matter.

From wiki

“Composite image showing the galaxy cluster 1E 0657-56, better known as bullet cluster.
The image in background showing the visible spectrum of light stems from Magellan and Hubble Space Telescope images.
The pink overlay shows the x-ray emission (recorded by Chandra Telescope) of the colliding clusters,
the blue one represents the mass distribution of the clusters calculated from gravitational lens effects.”

CHANDRA 2006 (x ray)

1751381287211.webp


JWST and Chandra below
Chandra contribution in pink/purple
A lot more what look like lensed objects in the larger circle.

1751381959431.webp
 
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  • #532
Cigar Galaxy (M82) Image of the Month from Webb. (MIRI)

1751892824012.webp


Some back ground information https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_82

Some other images are in the link from Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra and another from Webb (NIRCam)
 
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  • #533
Three years of the JWST this week. Happy first light day Webb!

The image below is located in the Milky way, so pretty much next door w r.t. Webb's capability, Cat's Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) 4000 light years away.

Screenshot_2025-07-11-07-11-48-091~2.webp


Or if you prefer to zoom in.

 
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