Credit: Unsplash
The Webb telescope is on a roll.
Last week, the James Webb telescope released its first images of the observable universe. These breathtaking, star-studded photos set the internet alight with space fever, as they were the highest-fidelity images ever taken of the deep dark (which seemed a lot less dark!). After releasing those images, though, the Webb telescope hasn’t taken any breaks. It’s still observing the cosmos, and it’s taken another picture for us.
The new photo is of the the planet Jupiter, and it’s breathtaking. Rather than straight photography, the images were captured using an infrared scanner, showing the gas giant, as well as its moon, Europa, in fascinating clarity.
“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, in a statement.
New data from the James Webb Space Telescope showcases Jupiter and its moon Europa captured in infrared light https://t.co/6tcGbaCA2n
— CNN International (@cnni) July 18, 2022
“I couldn’t believe that we saw everything so clearly, and how bright they were,” said Stefanie Milam, deputy project scientist for planetary science at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “It’s really exciting to think of the capability and opportunity that we have for observing these kinds of objects in our solar system.”
