James Webb Space Telescope First Image: Releasing the image, US President Joe Biden said, “Today is a historic day… This is a historic moment, for America and all of humanity.
WorldNDTV News DeskUpdated: July 12, 2022 4:04 am IST
Washington:
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris previewed the first image taken by world’s largest and most powerful space telescope- the James Webb Telescope– at the White House today. The image was released ahead of NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) releasing full-colour images and spectroscopic data obtained from the telescope tomorrow.
The image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length on the ground and shows thousands of galaxies and the faintest objects ever observed.
Releasing the image, US President Joe Biden said, “Today is a historic day… This is a historic moment, for America and all of humanity.
US Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her excitement during the preview of the images. “This is a very exciting moment for all of us. Today is an exciting new chapter for the universe,” she said.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson said after releasing the first image from the James Webb Telescope, “We are looking back at more than 13 billion years. The light that you are seeing on one of these little specks has been travelling for 13 billion years.”
“The release of these first images marks the official beginning of Webb’s science operations, which will continue to explore the mission’s key science themes,” NASA said about the images.
Images from the $10 billion James Webb Telescope, which are being released after a six-month process of remotely unfurling the observatory’s various components, usher in a revolutionary era of astronomical discovery.
NASA revealed James Webb’s first five cosmic targets on Friday. These include: the Carina Nebula, WASP-96b, the Southern Ring Nebula, Stephan’s Quintet and SMACS 0723. The targets were selected by an international committee, including members from NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.
Although, James Webb Space Telescope mission- launched into space in December 2021- was originally expected to last for 10 years, NASA said that it has enough excess fuel capability to operate for 20 years.
Source:NDTV-News