The James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, unveiled this image during a preview event at the White House on July 11 (July 12 in India). It is the first full-colour image to be released from the world's largest and most powerful space telescope, part of a full suite that will be released on Tuesday, July 12 (Wednesday, July 13 in India).
Known as Webb's First Deep Field, this is an image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the image of the galaxy cluster is “overflowing with detail”. Thousands of galaxies have appeared in Webb's view for the first time. The faintest objects ever observed in infrared light have also appeared in Webb's view.
Webb's First Deep Field has been captured by the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), and is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totalling 12.5 hours. The instrument has achieved depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope's deepest fields, which took two weeks.
Webb's first full-colour image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. According to NASA, the combined mass of the galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens. This magnifies much more distant galaxies behind the galaxy cluster.
Those distant galaxies have been brought into sharp focus with the help of Webb's NIRCam. The galaxies have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features.
“Webb's First Deep Field is not only the first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant Universe, so far. This image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. It’s just a tiny sliver of the vast universe," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was quoted as saying in an ESA statement.
This means that the image focuses on a spot in the sky that, from the perspective of someone on the ground, is about the size of what would be covered by a grain of sand held at arm's length.
“This is just a first glimpse of what Webb can do," Macarena Garcia Marin, ESA scientist for Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) said. "While we are truly in awe today of Webb's first deep field, I can’t help but think of what images and science results are just around the corner in the many years to come!”
The complete set of the first full-colour images from the world's most powerful telescope will be released during a televised broadcast beginning at 10:30 am EDT on July 12 (8 pm IST). The images will be released one by one, and will demonstrate Webb at its full power.
Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The space-based, infrared observatory is a powerful time machine that will look back in time to see the first stars and galaxies forming out of the darkness of the early universe. Webb will examine every phase of cosmic history, from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets, and the evolution of our own solar system.