Posted on 05/10/2022 9:33:30 AM PDT by Red Badger
Webb MIRI and Spitzer Comparison Image
Comparison of a Webb Space Telescope Mid-Infrared Instrument image of the Large Magellanic Cloud and a past image of the same view using the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (left), NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI (right)
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is aligned across all four of its science instruments, as seen in a previous engineering image showing the observatory’s full field of view. Now, we take a closer look at that same image, focusing on Webb’s coldest instrument: the Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI.
The MIRI test image (at 7.7 microns) shows part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located about 160,000 light-years away, provided a dense star field to test Webb’s performance.
Here, a close-up of the MIRI image is compared to a past image of the same target taken with NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera (at 8.0 microns). The retired Spitzer telescope was one of NASA’s Great Observatories and the first to provide high-resolution images of the near- and mid-infrared universe. Webb, with its significantly larger primary mirror and improved detectors, will allow us to see the infrared sky with improved clarity, enabling even more discoveries.
Webb MIRI vs Spitzer IRA
Comparison of a Webb MIRI image of the Large Magellanic Cloud and a past image of the same view using the Spitzer IRAC. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech (top), NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI (bottom)
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For example, Webb’s MIRI image shows the interstellar gas in unprecedented detail. Here, you can see the emission from “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,” or molecules of carbon and hydrogen that play an important role in the thermal balance and chemistry of interstellar gas. When Webb is ready to begin science observations, studies such as these with MIRI will help give astronomers new insights into the birth of stars and protoplanetary systems.
In the meantime, the Webb team has begun the process of setting up and testing Webb’s instruments to begin science observations this summer.
Webb MIRI Spitzer IRAC Comparison
Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
The James Webb Space Telescope is an international partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). MIRI is part of Europe’s contribution to the Webb mission. It is a partnership between Europe and the USA; the main partners are ESA, a consortium of nationally funded European institutes, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).
WEBB TELESCOPE PING!................
The heavens declare the glory of God......
HAL was told to lie.
With Web. The brighter stars look like snowflakes of light. Dry cool.
What’s up with the lens flaring though? They all look like 8 pointed snowflakes. I’m sure this has to do with the optics, no? Is that not something you can overcome? /abovemypaygrade
SO freakin cool!
Thanks for the ping. Can’t wait to see some of the deep space images.
Think they can use it to survey the vast empty space in Biden’s head?????
Web PING please
I saw a so called comparison. So fixed — thank you nasa.
One can easily see a star-filter enhancement on the new one, that the old image did not have.
Star filter IS NOT the way anything truly looks — nothing but trickery.
Its probably partially due to the particulate the light has to go through on its way here.
“Test images hint at new possibilities for science.” What’s this telescope going to do? Give a better close-up of Uranus?
Just wondering if you think EVERYTHING is a lie?
These space telescopes are incredibly expensive and delicate (although to date they have worked consistently well).
BUT, as opposed to most of the money our government flitters away on useless stuff or projects for cronies, I feel like this is worth it. Just my own opinion.
That’s what they said in the later 2010 movie. But in the 2001 movie, it looked like Hal went nuts because his simulated emotions made him prideful of his own perfection. So when he got caught making a mistake, he couldn’t handle it and killed all the witnesses to cover it up.
There are some things even the most advanced technology can’t handle.
Why not do a side-by-side of Hubble image vs Webb image? The Spitzer objective was MUCH smaller than even Hubble objective ...
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