- The James Webb Space Telescope has sent the first images from its location in space to Earth.
- As announced by NASA, the telescope took, among other things, a photo of the star HD 84406 from the constellation Ursa Major.
- A black background can be seen in the image, in front of which are 18 blurred points of light.
All points of light show one and the same star, which is reflected by the 18 segments of the main mirror. According to NASA, the image should help to adjust the alignment of the mirror. “The entire Webb team is enthusiastic about how well the first steps of image acquisition and alignment of the telescope are going,” explained Marcia Rieke.
She is the professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona involved in the project and said the telescope is expected to be operational in June 2022. Until then, according to NASA, the instruments still have to be cooled down and calibrated and the mirrors have to be precisely adjusted.
Legend:
One of the lenses on the telescope has taken a quasi-mirror selfie, showing an image of the James Webb primary mirror segments in the rough alignment after launch.
key stone
The James Webb Telescope is designed to explore the early days of the universe 13 billion years ago, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers hope to draw conclusions about the formation of the first stars and galaxies.
The most powerful telescope to date far surpasses its predecessor Hubble in size and complexity. It looks further into space than Hubble and therefore further back into the past. Webb focuses on infrared radiation.