24 votes

Webb: The world is about to be new again

16 comments

  1. [2]
    cmccabe
    Link
    How to see Webb's first images

    As the Webb team wraps up the final tests for commissioning this week, we are now only days away from the public release of the first images and spectra on July 12! This also means that Webb is moving into the phase of full science operations that includes a highly impressive suite of science programs from the solar system to the distant universe. The entire Webb team is ready to celebrate the long journey to this point and embark on the next few decades of groundbreaking infrared astronomy.

    How to see Webb's first images

    10 votes
    1. cfabbro
      Link Parent
      Thanks for that link. I have been eagerly awaiting the first images from Webb ever since they were announced, but didn't know when or where to look for them yet. I will definitely be checking them...

      Thanks for that link. I have been eagerly awaiting the first images from Webb ever since they were announced, but didn't know when or where to look for them yet. I will definitely be checking them out on the 12th now! :)

      p.s. Countdown timer site, HYPE!!!!

      6 votes
  2. ntngps
    Link
    Finally some new wallpapers for modern HiDPI screens :)

    Finally some new wallpapers for modern HiDPI screens :)

    6 votes
  3. [3]
    Nivlak
    Link
    These photos are stunning and leave me with so many questions. Incredible.

    These photos are stunning and leave me with so many questions. Incredible.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      EgoEimi
      Link Parent
      I live in constant regret that I don't live in a Star Trek era when we can visit all these worlds FTL.

      I live in constant regret that I don't live in a Star Trek era when we can visit all these worlds FTL.

      4 votes
      1. balooga
        Link Parent
        What constantly blows my mind is that basically all of Star Trek — all those alien races, spatial anomalies, and strange new worlds — occurs within one galaxy. Which, as these deep field images...

        What constantly blows my mind is that basically all of Star Trek — all those alien races, spatial anomalies, and strange new worlds — occurs within one galaxy. Which, as these deep field images keep showing us, is a teeny tiny thing in the enormity of the universe.

        Even Kirk could never dream of traveling to any of these places.

        5 votes
  4. [10]
    cfabbro
    (edited )
    Link
    NASA’s press conference where Biden is set to reveal the first photos should be starting any minute now, for those who want to watch along: NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV Edit: It’s had...

    NASA’s press conference where Biden is set to reveal the first photos should be starting any minute now, for those who want to watch along:
    NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

    Edit: It’s had “Will begin momentarily” on screen for the past half hour. :( I will reply to this comment when it actually starts.

    2 votes
    1. [9]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      It’s actually started now. Edit: Well that was weirdly short.

      It’s actually started now.

      Edit: Well that was weirdly short.

      1 vote
      1. [8]
        cfabbro
        Link Parent
        Link to the image, Webb’s First Deep Field: https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages Fucking crazy.

        Link to the image, Webb’s First Deep Field:
        https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages

        This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

        Fucking crazy.

        9 votes
        1. [4]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. [3]
            cfabbro
            Link Parent
            Ah that explains a lot. There is actually just as much lensing going on in the original Hubble version of the same shot, but it's just a bit harder to notice. Thanks for sharing all that info. cc:...

            Ah that explains a lot. There is actually just as much lensing going on in the original Hubble version of the same shot, but it's just a bit harder to notice. Thanks for sharing all that info. cc: @Amarok, @balooga

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              Amarok
              Link Parent
              Stark contrast when viewing them side by side. Webb makes it really pop, and the lensing just leaps out. Hubble's image is so much fainter.

              Stark contrast when viewing them side by side. Webb makes it really pop, and the lensing just leaps out. Hubble's image is so much fainter.

              1 vote
              1. cfabbro
                (edited )
                Link Parent
                Yeah, the new clarity and level of detail is so much better. Going back and forth between them shows so many new galaxies too. It's breathtaking, humbling, and genuinely gave me goosebumps.

                Yeah, the new clarity and level of detail is so much better. Going back and forth between them shows so many new galaxies too. It's breathtaking, humbling, and genuinely gave me goosebumps.

                2 votes
        2. [4]
          Amarok
          Link Parent
          Is it just me, or is there a lot more lensing in that picture than we normally see in deep field images?

          Is it just me, or is there a lot more lensing in that picture than we normally see in deep field images?

          1 vote
          1. [3]
            balooga
            Link Parent
            Yeah, I was just comparing it to the Ultra Deep Field and it's very apparent. I'm too much of a layperson to recognize what's happening here but I am going to be gobbling up every explainer video...

            Yeah, I was just comparing it to the Ultra Deep Field and it's very apparent. I'm too much of a layperson to recognize what's happening here but I am going to be gobbling up every explainer video I can find in the next few days!

            2 votes
            1. [2]
              cfabbro
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              Total speculation, but they may not have had enough time to fully process the image yet to reduce some of the distortion, like they might have done with previous deep field images(?). But it could...

              Total speculation, but they may not have had enough time to fully process the image yet to reduce some of the distortion, like they might have done with previous deep field images(?). But it could also be that the area they decided to capture first has a particularly strong gravity field somewhere in between Webb and many of the other galaxies in the image (notice how the lensing effect seems to be revolving around the one white galaxy in the very centre of the image, slightly below the biggest blue-white one). And it could also be that when zooming in that much, more lensing is just par for the course since we’re focusing on such a tiny sliver of the sky.

              I too am looking forward to hearing from people smarter than me in the coming days/weeks enlightening me on what caused this issue though.

              1 vote
              1. skybrian
                Link Parent
                I very much doubt it's a coincidence. They were probably looking at Hubble images when they decided what photos to take first. And gravitational lensing is a good way to see the early universe.

                I very much doubt it's a coincidence. They were probably looking at Hubble images when they decided what photos to take first. And gravitational lensing is a good way to see the early universe.

                2 votes