Webb telescope reveals amazing new evidence

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NASA

The Carina Nebula’s dazzling landscape was one of Webb’s first images, according to Brian Dunbar, writing for NASA.gov in June 2022.

On December 25, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope left its home at NASA’s Goddard Space-Flight Center and began its 5- to 10-year mission around our universe.

This telescope is currently the most advanced telescope in space, equipped with high-resolution and sensitivity instruments capable of taking pictures like no other space telescope has taken before.

It finally entered service on July 12, 2022. On the same date, its first images were published for the public to see.

The main focus of Webb’s mission is on cosmology, specifically the study—or more like proof—of the Big Bang theory.

This theory is the scientific community’s current understanding of how our universe originated. It is essentially the belief that the universe came to be about 13.8 billion years ago, starting from inconceivably high temperatures and density.

It is also believed that it has been expanding ever since into the universe we (sort of) know today.

One of Webb’s first images, of Stephen’s Quintet, will help provide insight into how galaxies interact with each other, according to Brian Dunbar, writing for NASA.gov in June 2022. (NASA)

So how is Webb going to help us see what happened 13.8 billion years ago? This is when we take a look at the fascinating and surprisingly simple topics of the speed of light, light-years, and the observable universe.

The speed of light is a universal constant of the value 299,792,458 m/s (meters per second). As far as we know, there is nothing in the known universe that is capable of moving faster than light.

Against popular misconception, a light year is a measure of distance rather than time. It is the distance light travels (at the speed of light) in the course of a year.

Now we come to the observable universe, which literally means the parts of the universe that we can see or have ever seen, which is about 46.5 billion light-years away.

However, because of that incredible distance, this means that we aren’t seeing these things as they are, at this moment, but as they were in the past, maybe as far back as the Big Bang.

SMACS 0723, or “the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the universe to date,” according to NASA’s Brian Dunbar, who wrote “First Images from the James Webb Space Telescope” in June 2022, (NASA)

This means that if we take a picture of an astronomical body that is 10 light-years away from whatever is taking the picture (like a space telescope), we will see that body as it was 10 years ago since it took 10 years for the light that we are currently seeing to get to us.

With each new photo, Webb brings deeper insight into our origin and what lies ahead for our universe. Suddenly, the universe doesn’t feel so dark and empty, but rather filled with hope and possibilities.

If you want more information or Webb’s newest findings, check out their website www.webb.nasa.gov or on Instagram @nasawebb.

Just this week, Webb captured “never-before-seen details in a region of space known as Pandora’s Cluster,” according to a NASA press release.

“Webb’s view displays three clusters of galaxies – already massive – coming together to form a megacluster,” scientists explain.

“Only Pandora’s central core has previously been studied in detail by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. By combining Webb’s powerful infrared instruments with a broad mosaic view of the region’s multiple areas of lensing, astronomers aimed to achieve a balance of breadth and depth that will open up a new frontier in the study of cosmology and galaxy evolution.”