NASA Quietly Releases More Webb Pictures: Jupiter, Three Of Its Moons And Ring

NASA has quietly released two pictures captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. These images are of Jupiter, three of its moons, and its ring. The pictures were taken while Webb was being tested.

NASA unveiled the first full-colour images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) on July 12. The world is awestruck after seeing five images captured by the world's most powerful space telescope. 

However, not everyone is aware that NASA quietly released two more Webb pictures. These images are of the gas giant Jupiter, three of its moons, and its ring. 

The pictures of Jupiter and three Jovian Moons were captured while Webb was being tested. The images have been provided in the JWST commissioning report, a 60-page document that characterises the actual science performance of Webb, as known on July 12, 2022. 

Jupiter's Images Captured By Webb

Webb has tracked solar system objects at speeds more than twice the requirement. The telescope has detected faint galaxies and observed targets as bright as Jupiter. 

The telescope tracked Jupiter using instruments such as NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), NIRISS (Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph), and the MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) MRS (medium-resolution spectrometer). 

According to the commissioning report, observing a bright planet and its satellites and rings was expected to be challenging, due to the scattered light that may affect the science instrument employed. 

Moreover, the fine guidance sensor (FGS) on the telescope is required to track guide stars near the bright planet. The FGS is an instrument on Webb which allows the telescope to point precisely, so that it can obtain high-quality images. 

Therefore, commissioning included tests of moving target tracking with the NIRCam instrument, Webb's primary imager that covers the infrared wavelength of 0.6 to five microns. Jupiter was incrementally moved from the NIRCam field of view to the FGS field of view, according to NASA. 

One of Webb's programmes demonstrated that the telescope can track moving targets even when there is scattered light from a bright Jovian planet. 

The NIRCam instrument captured two images of Jupiter. One of the pictures is a short-wavelength image while the other is a long-wavelength image. 

In both the images, the Jovian moons Europa, Thebe and Metis can be seen. The shadow of Europa is also visible, just to the left of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. 

Jupiter's ring is faintly visible in the Webb images.

More About The James Webb Space Telescope

The JWST is an international collaboration between NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). After decades of wait, Webb was launched into space on December 25, 2021, atop an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre located near Kourou, French Guiana.

The telescope is 100 times more powerful than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. Webb covers longer wavelengths than Hubble and has greatly improved sensitivity.

The primary goal of Webb will be to study the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets. Webb is a giant leap forward in our desire to understand the universe and its origins.

The powerful time machine with infrared vision can look back in time, more than 13.5 billion years back, 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.