THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE CAPTURES 1000 DISTANT GALAXIES IN A SINGLE IMAGE

After more than a month in its new home at the second Lagrange Point (L2), Nasa's James Webb Telescope has demonstrated why it was making headlines even before it was launched. The first photographs of a star that the world's most powerful observatory focused to synchronise its mirrors have been returned.

The photobombing effect on star HD 84406 is simply out of this world, with thousands of distant ancient galaxies jammed into a single shot. The image is a test shot to show how the telescope's 18 hexagonal mirrors worked together to create a single coordinated image taken 1.6 million kilometres distant from Earth.

PHOTOBOMB OF ANCIENT GALAXIES

The glittering star appeared more red and spiky thanks to the design of Webb's mirrors and filters, but the background stole the show. Webb operations project scientist Jane Rigby stated, "You can't help but see those thousands of galaxies behind it, incredibly spectacular."

Those galaxies have been around for billions of years. Webb will eventually be able to see so far away and so far back in time that it will only be "a couple hundred million years after the Big Bang," according to scientists.

The image appears a few days after the Webb engineers completed the mirror alignment process, indicating that the telescope's optical performance has exceeded their predictions.

ALIGNMENT OF MIRRORS

Every optical parameter that has been reviewed and tested, according to Nasa, is performing at or above expectations at this critical stage in the commissioning of Webb's Optical Telescope Element. There have been no serious difficulties discovered, and there is no quantifiable contamination or blockages in Webb's optical path.

"More than 20 years ago, the Webb team set out to build the most powerful telescope ever deployed into orbit, and they came up with a bold optical design to achieve exacting science goals." "We can now confidently state that design will deliver," said Thomas Zurbuchen, assistant administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

The crew has now fully aligned Webb's principal imager, the Near-Infrared Camera, to the observatory's mirrors after completing the fine phasing step of the telescope's alignment. "We've aligned and focussed the telescope on a star, and the results are beyond our expectations." Webb's deputy optical telescope element manager, Ritva Keski-Kuha, remarked, "We are enthusiastic about what this means for science."

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The team will complete the remaining alignment processes over the next six weeks before beginning final science instrument preparations, according to Nasa. The Near-Infrared Spectrograph, Mid-Infrared Instrument, Near-Infrared Imager, and Slitless Spectrograph will be added to the telescope's alignment. An algorithm will analyse the performance of each instrument and then calculate the final corrections required to establish a well-aligned telescope across all scientific instruments in this phase of the procedure.

Adjusting any slight, remaining positioning faults in the mirror portions will be the final stage. Before moving on to approximately two months of science instrument preparations, the team is on schedule to complete all aspects of Optical Telescope Element alignment by early May, if not sooner.

WHEN WILL THE FIRST IMAGES OF SCIENCE BE RECEIVED?

The first full-resolution photos and science data will be released in the summer, according to Nasa. Webb is the world's most advanced space research observatory, and once fully operational, it will aid in the investigation of mysteries in our solar system, as well as examine the mysterious structures and beginnings of our universe and our role within it.