James Webb Space Telescope takes highest resolution infrared image
The James Webb Space Telescope has released its first sharp image and it is a doozy a spectacular view of a twinkling orange star that is focused with such sharpness that it pushes the limits of the laws of physics.
The image shows that the telescope's 18 separate mirrors are now accurately aligned and acting as one, and the photo is even better than scientists hoped it would be
On March 16, Web team released the photograph of the milky way star which is 2MASS J17554042+6551277 and located roughly 2,000 light-years away.
This photograph taken with a red filter to maximize the visual contrast between the star and the blackness of space with dozens of other distant stars and galaxies.
Optical systems of JWST are now working better than scientists thought..
The image is the result of the "fine phasing" stage of the mirror alignments, in which every optical parameter is checked to verify that the telescope can successfully gather light from distant objects, NASA said in the statement.
Mirror Alignment
One of the first photographs from Webb, released last month, showed 18 images of a single star in a hexagonal pattern — one from each separate mirror, which by then had been roughly aligned to point at the same location.
The new image shows the unfolded mirrors have been adjusted to within nanometers, resulting in a single image in sharp focus, scientists said at the news conference.
NIRCAM ALIGNMENT SELFIE
The next stage will take about six weeks and will be followed by a final alignment stage in which the Webb team will adjust any residual positioning errors in the mirror segments.