James Webb Telescope - new releases

[FantaFest]

James Webb telescope discovers the 4 oldest galaxies in the universe, born just 300 million years after the Big Bang​

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have just discovered the four most distant galaxies ever seen, located a little over 13 billion light-years from Earth. This means astronomers are seeing what galaxies looked like only 300 to 500 million years after the Big Bang, in the infancy of our now almost 14 billion-year-old universe, according to two new (opens in new tab) studies (opens in new tab) published April 4 in the journal Nature Astronomy.


"The frontier is moving almost every month," Pieter van Dokkum (opens in new tab), a professor of astronomy at Yale University who was not involved in the studies, said in a commentary (opens in new tab) published in Nature Astronomy. There are now "only 300 million years of unexplored history of the universe between these galaxies and the Big Bang," van Dokkum added.


This may sound like familiar news, as several studies have recently claimed possible detections of even older galaxies using JWST in the past few months. The four newly discovered galaxies are different, though — astronomers have actually confirmed these are ancient galaxies and not some other celestial body, or a closer-by galaxy masquerading as a more distant one.

Source:https://www.livescience.com/james-w...orn-just-300-million-years-after-the-big-bang

 

[Brian_G]

More mild trouble.

Mid-Infrared Instrument Operations Update​

All 17 observing modes of the James Webb Space Telescope undergo routine performance monitoring and calibration. This month, while performing calibration by comparing the brightness of standard stars that have been well-cataloged by other observatories to what Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) was receiving, team members noticed a discrepancy in the data.

Further analysis of MIRI’s Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (MRS) mode revealed that at the longest wavelengths, the throughput, or the amount of light that is ultimately registered by MIRI’s sensors, has decreased since commissioning last year. No effect has been seen for MIRI imaging, and there is no risk to the instrument. All other observation modes – within MIRI and each of Webb’s other scientific instruments – remain unaffected.

NASA and its partners are developing a systematic plan to approach, analyze, and then explore the issue. The Webb team will continue MIRI observations as planned. The team will gather all relevant ground test and flight data to fully assess MRS performance. Further test observations will be taken to completely characterize the nature of the issue using this particular mode of observation. Next, a plan for long term-monitoring will be enacted, while the team continues to investigate the cause, identify risks, and explore mitigations that would potentially improve performance. One possible mitigation strategy includes taking slightly longer exposures at the affected wavelengths to increase the signal to noise.

 

[ScrooV]

‘Unprecedented’: Nasa releases image of star-forming region​

‘Unprecedented’: Nasa releases image of star-forming region

Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex image released to celebrate first year of operation of James Webb telescope

www.theguardian.com

Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex image released to celebrate first year of operation of James Webb telescope

An “unprecedented” closeup image of the nearest star-forming region to Earth was released by Nasa on Wednesday to mark the first year of operation of the James Webb space telescope.
The vivid view of “sun-like” stars in the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex 390 light years away is the first time researchers have been able to see the area in fine detail, minus the distraction of foreground stars.

 

[Defiler]

First image!

View attachment 1344992

One year later:

James Webb telescope images in glorious high resolution:

https://webbtelescope.org/images

 

[Brian_G]

Webb Confirms Accuracy of Universe’s Expansion Rate Measured by Hubble, Deepens Mystery of Hubble Constant Tension – James Webb Space Telescope

blogs.nasa.gov

Webb Confirms Accuracy of Universe’s Expansion Rate Measured by Hubble, Deepens Mystery of Hubble Constant Tension

The rate at which the universe is expanding, known as the Hubble constant, is one of the fundamental parameters for understanding the evolution and ultimate fate of the cosmos. However, a persistent difference called the “Hubble Tension” is seen between the value of the constant measured with a wide range of independent distance indicators and its value predicted from the big bang afterglow.

 

[Gordon_R]

Interesting views of star formation, dust and shockwaves:

James Webb telescope: Baby star launches giant jets and shocks

The James Webb observatory records the giant jets and shocks created by a birthing star in Orion.

www.bbc.com

 

[Brian_G]

Reason why the official JWT Blog hasn't had an update since 21 December

/s

 

[Brian_G]

Finally, a new blog

NASA’s Webb Makes the Distant Universe Dream Come True – James Webb Space Telescope

blogs.nasa.gov

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is delivering on its promise to explore the farthest reaches of the universe, looking back to a time when galaxies were just beginning to form. Scientists have been eagerly waiting to use this complex observatory to understand details that have been out of reach. We invite Alan Dressler, astronomer emeritus at the Carnegie Institute for Science Observatories, to describe his journey of scientific discovery from the early days of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to the exciting, new era of astronomy with the James Webb Space Telescope.

 

[Brian_G]

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Finds Most Distant Known Galaxy – James Webb Space Telescope

blogs.nasa.gov

In October 2023 and January 2024, an international team of astronomers used Webb to observe galaxies as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program. Using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), they obtained a spectrum of a record-breaking galaxy observed only two hundred and ninety million years after the big bang.

 

[Brian_G]

Reconnaissance of Potentially Habitable Worlds with NASA’s Webb – James Webb Space Telescope

blogs.nasa.gov

Exoplanets are common in our galaxy, and some even orbit in the so-called habitable zone of their star. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been busy observing a few of these small, potentially habitable planets, and astronomers are now hard at work analyzing Webb data. We invite Drs. Knicole Colón and Christopher Stark, two Webb project scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, to tell us more about the challenges in studying these other worlds.

 

[Brian_G]

No bells & whistles in this article, but is some important science confirmation.

Webb Researchers Discover Lensed Supernova, Confirm Hubble Tension – James Webb Space Telescope

blogs.nasa.gov

 

[HAL 9000]

The very first image transmitted from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Launched on December 25th, 2021, on the Ariane VA256 rocket, and the product of millions of hours of meticulous work by countless engineers and scientists... the ground-breaking James Webb Space Telescope, developed by NASA with joint contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is expected to usher humanity into a new age of scientific discovery across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including observations of detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets by allowing us views of the universe we could never imagine possible!

A window to our past, and our future... To boldly go...

 

[Binary_Bark]

James Webb Space Telescope discovers one of the earliest 'truly gargantuan' supernovas ever seen
​

Supernovas in the early universe just hit different. Especially when the stars that exploded was a stellar monster 20 times the mass of the sun.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered one of the most distant and, thus, earliest star-killing supernovas ever seen. This blast, which rocked the cosmos around 2 billion years after the Big Bang, marked the death of just such a monster star.

This supernova, detected as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program, could help scientists add more detail to the cosmic picture of stellar life and death they are currently building.

Linky Thing

 

[Brian_G]

No new pics (yet?) with this one, but interesting for those into this branch of astronomy.

Updates are rare now, please keep an eye on the source yourselves: https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/

NASA’s Webb Reveals the Ancient Surfaces of Trans-Neptunian Objects​

Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are icy bodies ranging in size from Pluto and Eris (dwarf planets with diameters of about 1,500 miles) down to tens of miles (Arrokoth) and even smaller. TNOs are on orbits comparable in size, or even much larger than, that of Neptune...

The orbits of TNOs are extremely diverse but fall into groupings that reflect the outward migration of Uranus and Neptune early in the history of the formation of the solar system. As such, TNOs hold the keys to understanding that early history. However, it took NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and its unparalleled ability to study the materials on the surfaces of TNOs to fully begin to grasp what they can tell us about our origins. Here Bryan Holler and John Stansberry from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore describe how Webb is expanding our knowledge of these objects.

/...

 

[Wrath of Khan MD]

Now Neptune is Trans.... what has the universe come to!

 

[Binary_Bark]

Webb Space Telescope Tracks Fireworks Around Our Galaxy’s Black Hole​

The supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy may not be as voracious as the gas-gobbling monsters that astronomers have seen farther out in the universe, but new findings from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveal that its surroundings are flaring with fireworks.


JWST’s readings in two near-infrared wavelengths have documented cosmic flares that vary in brightness and duration. Researchers say the accretion disk of hot gas surrounding the black hole, known as Sagittarius A*, throws off about five or six big flares a day, and several smaller bursts in between.

Webb Space Telescope Tracks Fireworks Around Our Galaxy's Black Hole

Readings from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal that the disk surrounding our Milky Way galaxy's black hole is flaring with fireworks.

www.universetoday.com

 

[Binary_Bark]

Rogue exoplanet or failed star? James Webb Space Telescope looks into a new cosmic case​

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have peered into the atmosphere of a cosmic body that could be a rogue planet or a "failed star." Either way, the world wanders the cosmos without a parent.

Rogue exoplanet or failed star? James Webb Space Telescope looks into a new cosmic case

"Planetary-mass objects don't fit neatly into existing categories of stars or planets."

www.space.com

 

[Binary_Bark]

Sparkling galaxy blazes with star formation in new James Webb Space Telescope image​

A nearby galaxy is ablaze with new stars in a dazzling new image from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Located 45 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canis Major, this barred spiral galaxy, called NGC 2283, exhibits a bright central bar of stars encircled by loosely wound, swirling arms blazing with star clusters and interstellar gas. The James Webb Space Telescope captured these tightly-knit groupings of young stars illuminating the hydrogen gas that surrounds them, which is the primary fuel source for star formation along with powerful stellar explosions, known as supernovas.

Sparkling galaxy blazes with star formation in new James Webb Space Telescope image

A nearby galaxy is ablaze with new stars in a dazzling new image from the James Webb Space Telescope.

www.space.com

 

[Binary_Bark]

JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 2: The Distant Universe​

Earlier this week, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) announced the science objectives for the fourth cycle of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) General Observations program - aka. Cycle 4 GO. This latest cycle includes 274 programs that will make up the JWST's fourth year of operations, amounting to 8,500 hours of prime observing time. These programs are broken down into eight categories that encompass Webb's capabilities.

This includes exoplanet study and characterization, the study of the earliest galaxies in the Universe, stellar populations and formation, and Solar System Astronomy. As we addressed in the previous installment, Cycle 4 includes many programs that will leverage Webb's extreme sensitivity and advanced instruments to observe exoplanets, characterize their atmospheres, and measure their potential habitability.

JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 2: The Distant Universe

Earlier this week, the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) announced the science objectives for the fourth cycle of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) General Observations program - aka. Cycle 4 GO. In keeping with Webb's major science objectives, many of these programs will focus on...

www.universetoday.com

 

[Binary_Bark]

JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 1: Exoplanets and Habitability​

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has announced the science objectives for Webb's General Observer Programs in Cycle 4 (Cycle 4 GO) program. The Cycle 4 observations include 274 programs that establish the science program for JWST's fourth year of operations, amounting to 8,500 hours of prime observing time. This is a significant increase from Cycle 3 observations and the 5,500 hours of prime time and 1,000 hours of parallel time it entailed.

These programs are broken down into eight categories, ranging from exoplanet habitability and the earliest galaxies in the Universe to supermassive black holes, stellar evolution, and Solar System astronomy. They were selected by the Cycle 4 Telescope Allocation Committee (TAC) in February 2025, which comprised two Executive Committee Chairs, 36 Panel Chairs and Vice Chairs, 183 Discussion Panelists, 315 External Panelists, and 220 Expert Reviewers.

JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 1: Exoplanets and Habitability

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has announced the science objectives for Webb's General Observer Programs in Cycle 4 (Cycle 4 GO) program. The Cycle 4 observations include 274 programs that establish the science program for JWST's fourth year of operations, amounting to 8,500 hours...

www.universetoday.com