Silently, NASA releases images of Jupiter captured by James Webb

• Photos of James Webb were used in an internal agency document;

• James Webb has already surpassed scientists’ expectations;

• Images show that the telescope is also useful for analyzing nearby objects.

The US space agency, Nasa, has secretly revealed two new images of our own Solar System taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s new equipment that will allow us to look at the beginnings of the Universe and help to discover alien life.

The images were not shared with the collection of photos shown this Tuesday (12)which point to distant galaxies and nebulae (clouds of interstellar gas and dust) in never-before-seen detail. In fact, the images leaked today show Jupiter, the fifth and largest planet in our Solar System.

Released in a document that reported on the successful operation of the telescope’s equipment, the new images are not as spectacular as the first ones, but they are equally important for scientists seeking to better understand the planets out in space.

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Made with James Webb’s infrared camera, the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), the photographs had as main objective to see details of their moons and rings. “Observing a bright planet and its satellites and rings was expected to be a challenge, due to scattered light that can affect the science instrument employed, but also the fine orientation sensor must track guide stars close to the bright planet,” write the researchers. document authors.

The report also suggests that the telescope will not only be useful for analyzing distant astronomical objects, but also for work to be done on objects close to us, such as tracking comets and analyzing our neighboring planets. Engineers imaged nine different targets to test this ability, and Jupiter was the slowest of them.

Finally, the NASA document states that James Webb has already surpassed all expectations that scientists had for him. “With revolutionary capabilities, the JWST ushered in the first of many years of scientific discovery.”

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