Tag: Webb

Webb telescope reveals surprising details of Pluto’s moon Charon

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope are giving scientists a fuller understanding about the composition and evolution of Pluto’s moon Charon, the largest moon orbiting any of our solar system’s dwarf planets. Webb for the first time detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide – both frozen as solids – on the surface of Charon, a spherical body about 750 miles (1,200 km) in diameter, researchers said on Tuesday. […]

Nearby exoplanet could be first known ocean world: Webb telescope

By Pierre Celerier PARIS (AFP) – A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope. More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the “Goldilocks zone” — neither too hot or too cold — that could host liquid […]

Hidden ocean the source of CO2 on Jupiter moon: research

PARIS, Sept 21, 2023 (AFP) – Carbon dioxide detected on Jupiter’s moon Europa comes from the vast ocean beneath its icy shell, research using James Webb Space Telescope data indicated on Thursday, potentially bolstering hopes the hidden water could harbour life. Scientists are confident there is a huge ocean of saltwater kilometres below Europa’s ice-covered surface, making the moon a prime candidate for hosting extra-terrestrial life in our Solar System. But determining whether this concealed […]

Webb telescope discovers oldest galaxies ever observed

by Juliette Collen and Daniel Lawler Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered the four most distant galaxies ever observed, one of which formed just 320 million years after the Big Bang when the universe was still in its infancy, new research said on Tuesday. The Webb telescope has unleashed a torrent of scientific discovery since becoming operational last year, peering farther than ever before into the universe’s […]

Iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’ captured in new Webb image

Washington, United States | AFP | The James Webb Space Telescope captured the iconic “Pillars of Creation,” huge structures of gas and dust teeming with stars, NASA said Wednesday, and the image is as majestic as one could hope. The twinkling of thousands of stars illuminates the telescope’s first shot of the gigantic gold, copper and brown columns standing in the midst of the cosmos. At the ends of several pillars are bright red, lava-like […]

Neptune’s delicate rings captured in new Webb image

  Paris, France (AFP) by Daniel Lawler The James Webb Space Telescope has turned its gaze away from the deep universe towards our home Solar System, capturing an image of a luminous Neptune and its delicate, dusty rings in detail not seen in decades, NASA said Wednesday. The last time astronomers had such a clear view of the farthest planet from the Sun was when NASA’s Voyager 2 became the first and only space probe […]

Webb begins hunt for the first stars and habitable worlds

  by Issam Ahmed and Lucie Aubourg Agence France Presse The first stunning images from the James Webb Space Telescope were revealed this week, but its journey of cosmic discovery has only just begun. Here is a look at two early projects that will take advantage of the orbiting observatory’s powerful instruments. – The first stars and galaxies – One of the great promises of the telescope is its ability to study the earliest phase […]

Photos of deep space as revealed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

“The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency),” NASA announced on July 12 as the telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data were released. This was during a televised broadcast at 10:30 a.m. EDT (14:30 UTC) on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, from NASA’s Goddard […]

Cosmic cliffs and dancing galaxies: Webb begins era of discovery

by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse The cosmic cliffs of a stellar nursery and a quintet of galaxies bound in a celestial dance: NASA released the next wave of images from the James Webb Space Telescope Tuesday, heralding a new era of astronomy. “Every image is a new discovery,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “Each will give humanity a view of the universe that we’ve never seen before.” Released one by one starting from 10:30 […]

Webb telescope reveals deepest image of early universe

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON  (AFP)  – Humanity’s view of the distant cosmos will never be the same. The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful to be placed in orbit, has revealed the clearest image to date of the early universe, US space agency NASA said Monday. The stunning shot, released in a White House briefing by President Joe Biden, is overflowing with thousands of galaxies and features some of the faintest objects observed, colorized […]

Webb telescope spots its first star — and takes a selfie

Star light, star bright, the James Webb Space Telescope has seen its first star (though it wasn’t quite tonight) — and even taken a selfie, NASA announced Friday. The steps are part of the months-long process of aligning the observatory’s enormous golden mirror that astronomers hope will begin unraveling the mysteries of the early Universe by this summer. The first picture sent back of the cosmos is far from stunning: 18 blurry white dots on […]

Webb telescope reaches final destination, a million miles from Earth

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at its cosmic parking spot a million miles away, bringing it a step closer to its mission to unravel the mysteries of the Universe, NASA said Monday. At around 2:00 pm Eastern Time (1900 GMT), the observatory fired its thrusters for five minutes to reach the so-called second Lagrange point, or L2, where it will have access to nearly half […]