Webb's First Deep Field

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Webb's First Deep Field Webb's First Deep Field.jpg
Webb's First Deep Field

Webb's First Deep Field is the first operational image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The deep-field photograph, which covers a tiny area of sky visible from the Southern Hemisphere, is centered on SMACS 0723, a galaxy cluster in the constellation of Volans. Thousands of galaxies are visible in the image, some as old as 13 billion years. [1] It is the highest-resolution image of the early universe ever taken. Captured by the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the image was revealed to the public by NASA on 11 July 2022.

Contents

Background

The James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope operated by NASA and designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. Launched in December 2021, the spacecraft has been in a halo orbit around the second Sun–Earth Lagrange point (L2), about 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 mi) from Earth, since January 2022. At L2, the gravitational pull of the Sun combines with the gravitational pull of the Earth to produce an orbital period that matches Earth's, and the Earth and Sun remain co-aligned (as seen from that point) as the Earth and the spacecraft orbit the Sun together. [2]

Webb's First Deep Field was taken by the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and is a composite produced from images at different wavelengths, totalling 12.5 hours of exposure time. [3] [4]

SMACS 0723 is a galaxy cluster visible from Earth's Southern Hemisphere, [5] and has often been examined by Hubble and other telescopes in search of the deep past. [2]

Scientific results

The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago, [4] covering an area of sky with an angular size approximately equal to a grain of sand held at arm's length. [3] Many of the objects in the image have undergone notable redshift due to the expansion of space over the extreme distance traveled by the light radiating from them. [6] The redshifts of nearly 200 of these objects have been measured to date, [7] with the highest redshift measured at 8.498. [8]

The combined mass of the galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying and distorting the images of much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb's NIRCam brought the distant galaxies into sharp focus, revealing tiny, faint structures that had never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features. [3]

Diffraction spikes in the photo

The Webb telescope's mirror is composed of 18 individual mirrors, each having a hexagonal rim, rather than the round rim typically used in telescopes. JWST-HST-primary-mirrors.svg
The Webb telescope's mirror is composed of 18 individual mirrors, each having a hexagonal rim, rather than the round rim typically used in telescopes.
The six diffraction spikes from the rim along with the two horizontal diffraction spikes from the struts, for a total of eight diffraction spikes. The colors of the spikes correspond to the colors of the rim edges and color of struts JWST diffraction spikes.svg
The six diffraction spikes from the rim along with the two horizontal diffraction spikes from the struts, for a total of eight diffraction spikes. The colors of the spikes correspond to the colors of the rim edges and color of struts

The six bright and two fainter spikes around the point sources of light in the photo are an artifact created by the physical limitations of the telescope. The six bright spikes are a result of diffraction from the mirror's edges. The mirror is composed of 18 individual units, each having the shape of a regular hexagon. The hexagonal rim of the units that make up the telescope's large mirror give rise to the six spikes. [9] Telescopes with circular mirrors/lenses don't have such spikes (in lieu of spikes, diffraction from circular rims creates a pattern of concentric rings called Airy discs).

The two additional spikes are a result of diffraction from the struts holding the telescope's secondary mirror in front of the main mirror. As shown in the figure on the right, diffraction from the three struts creates six spikes, but four of these are designed to co-align with the spikes created from the diffraction caused by the rim. This leaves the two faint horizontal spikes visible in the photo. [10]

Significance

Deepest image of the Universe

On July 12, 2022, JWST delivered the deepest sharp infrared image of the universe to date. [11] Webb's First Deep Field is the first full false-color image from the JWST, [12] and the highest-resolution infrared view of the universe yet captured. [11] The image reveals thousands of galaxies in a tiny sliver of the universe, with Webb's sharp near-infrared view bringing out faint structures in extremely distant galaxies, offering the most detailed view of the early universe to date. Thousands of galaxies, which include the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared, have appeared in Webb's view for the first time. [13] [3]

It was first revealed to the public during an event on 11 July 2022 by U.S. President Joe Biden. [2]

Comparison with the Hubble Space Telescope

The following images are a comparison with the image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and the image taken by Webb of the same galaxy cluster.

Deep Field – Galaxy cluster SMACS J0723.3-7327. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
NASA-HubbleSpaceTelescope-DeepField-2017.jpg
Webb's First Deep Field (adjusted).jpg
Left: image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2017
Right: same image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022 [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galaxy cluster</span> Structure made up of a gravitationally-bound aggregation of hundreds of galaxies

A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. They are the second-largest known gravitationally bound structures in the universe after some superclusters (of which only one, the Shapley Supercluster, is known to be bound). They were believed to be the largest known structures in the universe until the 1980s, when superclusters were discovered. One of the key features of clusters is the intracluster medium (ICM). The ICM consists of heated gas between the galaxies and has a peak temperature between 2–15 keV that is dependent on the total mass of the cluster. Galaxy clusters should not be confused with galactic clusters (also known as open clusters), which are star clusters within galaxies, or with globular clusters, which typically orbit galaxies. Small aggregates of galaxies are referred to as galaxy groups rather than clusters of galaxies. The galaxy groups and clusters can themselves cluster together to form superclusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First light (astronomy)</span> Term in astronomy for the first time a telescope is used to look at the Universe

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubble Deep Field</span> Multiple exposure image of deep space in the constellation Ursa Major

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Webb Space Telescope</span> NASA/ESA/CSA space telescope launched in 2021

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephan's Quintet</span> Visual grouping of five galaxies

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubble Ultra-Deep Field</span> Deep-field space image

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NIRSpec</span> Spectrograph on the James Webb Space Telescope

The NIRSpec is one of the four scientific instruments flown on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The JWST is the follow-on mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and is developed to receive more information about the origins of the universe by observing infrared light from the first stars and galaxies. In comparison to HST, its instruments will allow looking further back in time and will study the so-called Dark Ages during which the universe was opaque, about 150 to 800 million years after the Big Bang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NIRCam</span> Imaging instrument aboard the James Webb Space Telescope

NIRCam is an instrument aboard the James Webb Space Telescope. It has two major tasks, as an imager from 0.6 to 5 μm wavelength, and as a wavefront sensor to keep the 18-section mirrors functioning as one. In other words, it is a camera and is also used to provide information to align the 18 segments of the primary mirror. It is an infrared camera with ten mercury-cadmium-telluride (HgCdTe) detector arrays, and each array has an array of 2048×2048 pixels. The camera has a field of view of 2.2×2.2 arcminutes with an angular resolution of 0.07 arcseconds at 2 μm. NIRCam is also equipped with coronagraphs, which helps to collect data on exoplanets near stars. It helps with imaging anything next to a much brighter object, because the coronagraph blocks that light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcia J. Rieke</span> American astronomer

Marcia Jean Rieke is an American astronomer. She is a Regents' Professor of Astronomy and associate department head at the University of Arizona. Rieke is the Principal Investigator on the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). She has also served as the deputy-Principal Investigator on the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and as the co-investigator for the multiband imaging photometer on the Spitzer Space Telescope, where she also acted as an outreach coordinator and a member of the Science Working Group. Rieke was also involved with several infrared ground-based observatories, including the MMT Observatory in Arizona. She was vice chair for Program Prioritization of the Astro2010 Decadal Survey Committee, "New Worlds, New Horizons". Marcia Rieke is considered by many to be one of the "founding mothers" of infrared astronomy, along with Judith Pipher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHL0137-LS</span> Most distant known star, discovered 2022

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">SMACS J0723.3–7327</span> Galaxy cluster in the constellation Volans

SMACS J0723.3–7327, commonly referred to as SMACS 0723, is a galaxy cluster about 4 billion light years from Earth, within the southern constellation of Volans. It is a patch of sky visible from the Southern Hemisphere on Earth and often observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and other telescopes in search of the deep past. It was the target of the first full-color image to be unveiled by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), imaged using NIRCam, with spectra included, showing objects lensed by the cluster with redshifts implying they are 13.1 billion years old. The cluster has been previously observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as part of the Southern MAssive Cluster Survey (SMACS), as well as Planck and Chandra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GLASS-z12</span> Lyman-break galaxy that is one of the oldest galaxies known

GLASS-z12 is a Lyman-break galaxy discovered by the Grism Lens-Amplified Survey from Space (GLASS) observing program using the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam in July 2022. Spectroscopic observations of GLASS-z12 by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in August 2022 confirmed that the galaxy has a spectroscopic redshift of 12.117±0.012, making it one of the earliest and most distant galaxies ever discovered, dating back to just 350 million years after the Big Bang, 13.6 billion years ago. ALMA observations detected an emission line associated with doubly ionized oxygen at 258.7 GHz with a significance of 5σ, suggesting that there is very low dust content in GLASS-z12, if not the early universe as well. Also based on oxygen-related measurements, the age of the galaxy is confirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CEERS-93316</span> Possibly one of the oldest galaxies observed

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">JADES-GS-z13-0</span> High-redshift Lyman-break galaxy that is one of the oldest galaxies known

JADES-GS-z13-0 is a high-redshift Lyman-break galaxy discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) during NIRCam imaging for the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) on 29 September 2022. Spectroscopic observations by JWST's NIRSpec instrument in October 2022 confirmed the galaxy's redshift of z = 13.2 to a high accuracy, establishing it as the oldest and most distant spectroscopically-confirmed galaxy known as of 2023, with a light-travel distance of 13.4 billion years. Due to the expansion of the universe, its present proper distance is 33.6 billion light-years.

F200DB-045 is a candidate high-redshift galaxy, with an estimated redshift of approximately z = 20.4, corresponding to 168 million years after the Big Bang. If confirmed, it would be one of the earliest and most distant known galaxies observed.

References

  1. ↑ "Webb's First Deep Field (NIRSpec MSA Emission Spectra)". WebbTelescope.org. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Overbye, Dennis; Chang, Kenneth; Tankersley, Jim (11 July 2022). "Biden and NASA Share First Webb Space Telescope Image". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Garner, Rob (11 July 2022). "NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Webb's first deep field". European Space Agency. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "SRELICS". IRAS. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Isaacs-Thomas, Isabella (11 July 2022). "Here's the deepest, clearest infrared image of the universe ever produced". PBS . Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Noirot, Gaël; Desprez, Guillaume; Asada, Yoshihisa; Sawicki, Marcin; Estrada-Carpenter, Vicente; Martis, Nicholas; Sarrouh, Ghassan; Strait, Victoria; Abraham, Roberto; Bradač, Maruša; Brammer, Gabriel; Iyer, Kartheik; MacFarland, Shannon; Matharu, Jasleen; Mowla, Lamiya (2023). "The first large catalogue of spectroscopic redshifts in Webb's first deep field, SMACS J0723.3−7327". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 525 (2): 1867–1884. arXiv: 2212.07366 . doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1019.
  8. ↑ Carnall, A. C.; Begley, R.; McLeod, D. J.; Hamadouche, M. L.; Donnan, C. T.; McLure, R. J.; Dunlop, J. S.; Milvang-Jensen, B.; Bondestam, C. L.; Cullen, F.; Jewell, S. M.; Pollock, C. L. (9 November 2022). "A first look at the SMACS0723 JWST ERO: spectroscopic redshifts, stellar masses and star-formation histories". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 518 (1): L45–L50. arXiv: 2207.08778 . doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slac136. ISSN   1745-3925.
  9. ↑ Williams, Matt (19 March 2022). "Wondering About the 6 Rays Coming out of JWST's Test Image? Here's why They Happen". Universe Today. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Webb's Diffraction Spikes".
  11. 1 2 Garner, Rob (11 July 2022). "NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet". NASA. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Strickland, Ashley (11 July 2022). "President Biden reveals the James Webb Space Telescope's stunning first image". CNN . Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Chow, Denise (11 July 2022). "The Webb telescope's first full-color photo is here – and it's stunning". NBC News . Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  14. ↑ Garner, Rob (11 July 2022). "NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet". NASA. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Overbye, Dennis; Chang, Kenneth; Tankersley, Jim (11 July 2022). "Biden and NASA Share First Webb Space Telescope Image – From the White House on Monday, humanity got its first glimpse of what the observatory in space has been seeing: a cluster of early galaxies". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  16. ↑ Pacucci, Fabio (15 July 2022). "How Taking Pictures of 'Nothing' Changed Astronomy - Deep-field images of "empty" regions of the sky from Webb and other space telescopes are revealing more of the universe than we ever thought possible". Scientific American . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  17. ↑ Deliso, Meredith; Longo, Meredith; Rothenberg, Nicolas (14 July 2022). "Hubble vs. James Webb telescope images: See the difference". ABC News . Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  18. ↑ Kooser, Amanda (13 July 2012). "Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope Images Compared: See the Difference - The James Webb Space Telescope builds on Hubble's legacy with stunning new views of the cosmos". CNET . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  19. ↑ Atkinson, Nancy (2 May 2022). "Now, We can Finally Compare Webb to Other Infrared Observatories". Universe Today . Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  20. ↑ Chow, Denise; Wu, Jiachuan (12 July 2022). "Photos: How pictures from the Webb telescope compare to Hubble's - NASA's $10 billion telescope peers deeper into space than ever, revealing previously undetectable details in the cosmos". NBC News . Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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