What Is Next For The James Webb Space Telescope?
Many of us recently watched NASA reveal the first official images taken and released by the James Webb Space Telescope only a few days ago. Here we saw incredible views of the galaxy, exoplanets, stars, and much more. In addition to these images, the agency announced the completion of Webb’s various commissioning activities and the start of consistent science operations.
With these first images complete and Webb done with all its tests, this brings up the question of what’s next. Just yesterday the agency already released more fascinating photos and animations this time of Jupiter. More specifically, data from the telescope’s commissioning period is now being released on the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.
The data includes images of Jupiter and images and spectra of several asteroids, just to name a few. This is just a single example of the exciting experiments and observations expected to happen over the next couple of years. Here I will go more in-depth into some of the recent images of Jupiter, NASA’s plan for Webb, and what to expect in the coming months now that Webb is ready.
Jupiter Images
In addition to Tuesday’s release of the first images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, data from the telescope’s commissioning period is now being released on the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. The data includes images of Jupiter and images and spectra of several asteroids, captured to test the telescope’s instruments before science operations officially began July 12. The data demonstrates Webb’s ability to track solar system targets and produce images and spectra with unprecedented detail. Specifically, just yesterday NASA tweeted saying, “Hey @NASASolarSystem, ready for your close-up? As part of Webb’s prep for science, we tested how the telescope tracks solar system objects like Jupiter. Webb worked better than expected, and even caught Jupiter’s moon Europa.” They followed up with another tweet mentioning, “These images are designed for engineering purposes, so they aren’t processed in the same way as our first images this week. Like some earlier calibration images, these are processed to emphasize certain features.”
The agency points out that Fans of Jupiter will recognize some familiar features of our solar system’s enormous planet in these images seen through Webb’s infrared gaze. A view from the NIRCam instrument’s short-wavelength filter shows distinct bands that encircle the planet as well as the Great Red Spot, a storm big enough to swallow the Earth. The iconic spot appears white in this image because of the way Webb’s infrared image was processed. “Combined with the deep field images released the other day, these images of Jupiter demonstrate the full grasp of what Webb can observe, from the faintest, most distant observable galaxies to planets in our own cosmic backyard that you can see with the naked eye from your actual backyard,” said Bryan Holler, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, who helped plan these observations.
Clearly visible at left is Europa, a moon with a probable ocean below its thick icy crust, and the target of NASA’s forthcoming Europa Clipper mission. What’s more, Europa’s shadow can be seen to the left of the Great Red Spot. Other visible moons in these images include Thebe and Metis. “I couldn’t believe that we saw everything so clearly, and how bright they were,” said Stefanie Milam, Webb’s deputy project scientist for planetary science based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s really exciting to think of the capability and opportunity that we have for observing these kinds of objects in our solar system.” Scientists were especially eager to see these images because they are proof that Webb can observe the satellites and rings near bright solar system objects such as Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. Scientists will use Webb to explore the tantalizing question of whether we can see plumes of material spewing out of moons like Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Webb may be able to see the signatures of plumes depositing material on the surface on Europa. “I think that’s just one of the coolest things that we’ll be able to do with this telescope in the solar system,” Milam said.
Additionally, Webb easily captured some of Jupiter’s rings, which especially stand out in the NIRcam long-wavelength filter image. That the rings showed up in one of Webb’s first solar system images is “absolutely astonishing and amazing,” Milam said. “The Jupiter images in the narrow-band filters were designed to provide nice images of the entire disk of the planet, but the wealth of additional information about very faint objects (Metis, Thebe, the main ring, hazes) in those images with approximately one-minute exposures was absolutely a very pleasant surprise,” said John Stansberry, observatory scientist and NIRCam commissioning lead at the Space Telescope Science Institute.
During one of the final tests of this specific observation, Webb also obtained images of Jupiter and Europa moving across the telescope’s field of view in three separate observations. This test demonstrated the ability of the observatory to find and track guide stars in the vicinity of bright Jupiter. Yesterday NASA tweeted again this time saying, “Even more Webb test data and images — like this bonus shot of Asteroid 6481 Tenzing — are now available, and this is just the beginning of Webb’s data. It’s true what they say: The data start coming and they don’t stop coming.” This tweet included a short GIF of Webb tracking the asteroid. This brought up the question of how fast can an object move and still be tracked by Webb? During commissioning, Webb used an asteroid called 6481 Tenzing, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, to start the moving-target tracking “speed limit” tests. Webb was designed with the requirement to track objects that move as fast as Mars, which has a maximum speed of 30 milliarcseconds per second. During commissioning, the Webb team conducted observations of various asteroids, which all appeared as a dot because they were all small. The team proved that Webb will still get valuable data with all of the science instruments for objects moving up to 67 milliarcseconds per second, which is more than twice the expected baseline – similar to photographing a turtle crawling when you’re standing a mile away. “Everything worked brilliantly,” Milam said. This additional data is helping highlight the fascinating discoveries that are yet to come. Webb has proved that it’s working better than expected and is ready for consistent science.
Webb’s Future
Now that we took a closer look at some of the recent data released by Webb, we can focus on its schedule and what you should expect to see in the future. Back in 2021, mission officials for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope announced the selection of the General Observer programs for the telescope’s first year of science, known as Cycle 1. These specific programs will provide the worldwide astronomical community with one of the first extensive opportunities to investigate scientific targets with Webb. The 286 selected proposals address a wide variety of science areas and will help fulfill NASA’s overarching mission to further our understanding of the universe and our place in it. “The initial year of Webb’s observations will provide the first opportunity for a diverse range of scientists around the world to observe particular targets with NASA’s next great space observatory,” said Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA. “The amazing science that will be shared with the global community will be audacious and profound.” General Observer programs selected in this cycle seek to find the first galaxies, explore the formation of stars, and measure physical and chemical properties of planetary systems, including our own solar system. “We are opening the infrared treasure chest, and surprises are guaranteed,” said Dr. John C. Mather, Senior Project Scientist for the Webb mission and Senior Astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “How did the universe make galaxies, stars, black holes, and planets, and our own very special little Earth? I don’t know yet, but we are getting closer every day.”
More than 1,000 proposals were submitted by the November 24, 2020 deadline. Scientists hailing from 44 countries applied for a portion of the 6,000 observing hours available in Webb’s first year, which represents about two-thirds of all Cycle 1 observing time. “We celebrate the very successful partnership between the European Space Agency and our colleagues at NASA and the Canadian Space Agency,” said Prof. Günther Hasinger, Director of Science at the European Space Agency. “We look forward to the beautiful images and spectra and the amazing discoveries that Webb will make in this first year of observations.”
Conclusion
The James Webb Space Telescope is finally complete and NASA is releasing more fascinating images and data each day. Just yesterday the agency showed images of Jupiter and its Moon. Thankfully, this is only the beginning of what’s expected to be multiple years of science. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.