A little perspective... James Webb telescope

[Shaun @ Tru6]

NASA’s Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail.

Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time. This slice of the vast universe covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length by someone on the ground.

This deep field, taken by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), is a composite made from images at different wavelengths, totaling 12.5 hours – achieving depths at infrared wavelengths beyond the Hubble Space Telescope’s deepest fields, which took weeks.

The image shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it. Webb’s NIRCam has brought those distant galaxies into sharp focus – they have tiny, faint structures that have never been seen before, including star clusters and diffuse features. Researchers will soon begin to learn more about the galaxies’ masses, ages, histories, and compositions, as Webb seeks the earliest galaxies in the universe.

This image is among the telescope’s first-full color images. The full suite will be released Tuesday, July 12, beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT, during a live NASA TV broadcast.

[masraum]

Someone should take off the 6 point star filter!

Can't wait to see the rest.

This is a comparison between output of Hubble and JW of the same spot.
https://petapixel.com/2022/07/11/comparing-hubble-to-james-webb-the-difference-in-detail-is-astounding/

[KFC911]

^^^^ That was likely just pure absolute nothing but nuthin' before Hubble too. This is gettin' pretty good .

[astrochex]

NASA talking Webb images now, https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

[flatbutt]

Funny. They can bring us images from a bazillion light years away but the stream from Montreal gave them a problem.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Funny. They can bring us images from a bazillion light years away but the stream from Montreal gave them a problem.

Ha. Just look how well the aliens did after that long inter galactic trip then landing the hard way in Roswell

[RobFrost]

How is it that we can see gravitational lensing of galaxies millions of light years away, but it is still not within mankind's gift to reliably connect a computer to a printer?

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

[cockerpunk]

i had lunch once at a conference with the guys who ground the mirrors for james webb, and it was fantastic. very much an art form.

[70SATMan]

Pretty sure the downlink is through the new 34M DSN antennas we built a couple of years ago. I posted a link to the time lapse pictures of the Canberra antenna back then.

One of the reasons why I love my job...

Some of my Local Porsche buddies work in the mirror and instruments Astrophysics Dept at UCSC. They built the first Keck telescope and my company built the observatory and mirror positioning system... small world.

[cockerpunk]

super precision machining is certainly a small world. our conference is big when there are like 250 total people lol.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by RobFrost

How is it that we can see gravitational lensing of galaxies millions of light years away, but it is still not within mankind's gift to reliably connect a computer to a printer?

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

Or better yet, we connect computers and transfer pictures back from the JW telescope. We have bidirectional communications with devices on Mars.

And the ultimate, we receive communications from Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 which have left the solar system.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by masraum

And the ultimate, we receive communications from Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 which have left the solar system.

Voyager 1 is 14+ billion miles away from the Earth. Pluto is over three billion miles for perspective. (Voyager 2 at 11 billion)

Over 20 hours for Voyager 1 transmissions to reach earth.

Both were expected to have a three to five year functional operation span from 1977.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

The Deep Space Network by Ridgecrest CA works in conjunction with Canberra Australia & Rota Spain.
Its run by JPL in Pasadena. Anything past Mars communicates via these world wide dishes.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Voyager 1 is 14+ billion miles away from the Earth. Pluto is over three billion miles for perspective. (Voyager 2 at 11 billion)

Over 20 hours for Voyager 1 transmissions to reach earth.

Both were expected to have a three to five year functional operation span from 1977.

Yep, absolutely amazing, IMO!

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Voyager 1 is 14+ billion miles away from the Earth. Pluto is over three billion miles for perspective. (Voyager 2 at 11 billion)

Over 20 hours for Voyager 1 transmissions to reach earth.

Both were expected to have a three to five year functional operation span from 1977.

And they have tiny little transmitters. Yet I can't pick up a signal on my phone all the time. My cell phone antenna is a bit more portable however.

The Voyager spacecraft use 23-watt radios. This is higher than the 3 watts a typical cell phone uses, but in the grand scheme of things it is still a low-power transmitter.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

And they have tiny little transmitters. Yet I can't pick up a signal on my phone all the time. My cell phone antenna is a bit more portable however.

The Voyager spacecraft use 23-watt radios. This is higher than the 3 watts a typical cell phone uses, but in the grand scheme of things it is still a low-power transmitter.

One big difference is if the antenna are directional or omni-directional. A directional parabolic antenna is going to be far, far better at sending and receiving a signal than an omni-directional.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by masraum

One big difference is if the antenna are directional or omni-directional. A directional parabolic antenna is going to be far, far better at sending and receiving a signal than an omni-directional.

Yea, I am lucky to get reception a mile or two from a tower, and they have communications from 14 billion miles. That is over twice as much!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gh85carrera

yea, i am lucky to get reception a mile or two from a tower, and they have communications from 14 billion miles. That is over twice as much!

lol

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

The Deep Space Network by Ridgecrest CA works in conjunction with Canberra Australia & Rota Spain.
Its run by JPL in Pasadena. Anything past Mars communicates via these world wide dishes.

Would the giant Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico have been on this list before the cables snapped in 2020?

It's not really that far away from Spain in the grand scheme and I'm not sure if it was the right kind of dish, but surely it was big enough.

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Voyager 1 is 14+ billion miles away from the Earth.

Only one man made vehicle has traveled more miles. Glen's Elky.

[gordner]

Arecibo was shut down long before the cables snapped as I understand it.