The Unexpected Science You Missed From James Webb’s First Pictures

This almost perfectly aligned image composite shows the first JWST deep-field view of the core of star cluster SMACS 0723 and contrasts it with the older Hubble view. A look at the image detail missing from the Hubble data but present in the JWST data tells us just how much discovery potential awaits JWST scientists.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI; NASA/ESA/Hubble (STScI); Composite by E. Siegel)

This enhanced view of the first JWST deep-field image of the cosmos overexposes the brightest galaxies and the center of the cluster to better bring out the detail in the fainter, redder, and more distant galaxies. This first deep field view was captured with JWST in just half a day. With over 20 years of data, we can only imagine what will be revealed.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI; processing by E. Siegel)

A number of extremely diverse objects have been spotted in the JWST image of SMACS 0723, and the power of spectroscopy has allowed us to determine exactly how far away they are and how much their light is stretched by the expanding Universe. This is a powerful demonstration of the capabilities of JWST as well as an illustration of the capabilities of gravitational lensing.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

A portion of the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field imaged for a total of 23 days, in contrast to the simulated infrared view expected by James Webb. With large-scale mosaics like COSMOS-Web and PANORAMIC, the latter of which takes advantage of purely parallel observation, we should not only break the cosmic record for the most distant galaxies, but also learn what the earliest luminous objects in the universe looked like.

(Source: NASA/ESA and Hubble/HUDF team; JADES collaboration for the NIRCam simulation)

This three-part image shows the view of the Carina Nebula’s “cosmic cliffs” as seen by Hubble (top), JWST’s NIRCam instrument (middle), and JWST’s MIRI instrument (bottom). With its first scientific publication, this new era in astronomy has really dawned.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI; NASA, ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))

Although difficult to see with the naked eye, there are numerous galaxies that can be seen through the clouds of the cosmic cliffs in the Carina Nebula. Many of them have been manually circled here in the cropped image from JWST’s NIRCam instrument.

(Sources: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, edited by E. Siegel)

On the less dusty side of the cosmic cliffs in the Carina Nebula, a series of faint, sprawling objects can be identified among the glittering stars that populate most of this region of space. Even in the galactic plane, where stellar density is greatest and neutral matter abounds, there are numerous background galaxies that are likely to appear in virtually every future JWST image.

(Sources: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, edited by E. Siegel)

Overlaid with (older) Hubble data, the JWST NIRCam image of the Southern Ring Nebula is vastly superior in many respects: resolution, details revealed, extent of outer gas, etc. It is truly a spectacular revelation of how stars like the Sun end their lives .

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

Even where the debris from a dying star is brightest and feature richest in our own galaxy, numerous background galaxies can be identified, poking through the otherwise light-blocking dust at infrared wavelengths.

(Sources: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, edited by E. Siegel)

Outside the nebulous structure of the Southern Ring Nebula, the abyss of empty space is revealed by JWST’s NIRCam imager. A large number of galaxies and galaxy candidates can even be identified by hand. Many of these objects had never been seen before, demonstrating the power of JWST to reveal the previously unknown universe, even though this was not the scientific goal of the imaging campaign.

(Sources: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, edited by E. Siegel)

This unannotated portion of the view of the Southern Ring Nebula by the JWST’s NIRCam instrument shows the edges of the nebula, a series of spiked stars, and a slew of extended objects that can be identified as background galaxies. There are galaxies waiting for you in every region of space imaged by NIRCam.

(Image credits: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

This contrast of Hubble’s view of Stephan’s quintet with JWST’s NIRCam view reveals a number of features that are little or not at all evident at a shorter set of more restrictive wavelengths. The differences between the images show what features JWST can reveal that Hubble is missing. Despite the beauty and awe that this image offers, there is no known planetary system, in our own galaxy or any other, where humans could survive as we do on Earth.

(Source: NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team; NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

Outside of the five main member galaxies that make up Stephan’s quintet, the JWST NIRCam view shows thousands of additional galaxies existing in the background, hundreds of which can be seen here, many of which have never been identified before by any other instrument or observatory.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

The colors and shapes of the galaxies revealed here by JWST’s NIRCam are determined not only by the intrinsic color and shape of the galaxies and the stars they contain, but also by the cosmological redshift and cumulative distortion imparted by all foreground masses . The resolution of these background galaxies is unprecedented.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

This extremely rich region of space was imaged while viewing Stephan’s quintet with JWST’s NIRCam instrument. Many of these galaxies are clustered together in real space, while others are simply random alignments along the same line of sight. A cluster analysis of regions like this, many of which are revealed in great detail by JWST, can yield a tremendous amount of additional science on top of what was planned.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

And just as there are many regions of space that have been imaged that are too dense in terms of the number of galaxies and total mass in that region, there are also underdense, void-like regions. JWST can reveal them all wherever it turns its infrared eyes.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

This region, located at the edge of star-forming regions caused by the interaction of several galaxy members within Stephan’s quintet, reveals numerous details about nearby star formation in these galaxies, while also revealing background galaxies. The adage “One astronomer’s noise is another astronomer’s data” is in full force here, as extragalactic and stellar astronomers of all stripes can have a big day with what has been revealed in just this one region of space.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

The MIRI view of Stephan’s quintet reveals features not seen at any other wavelength. Its uppermost galaxy – NGC 7319 – is home to a supermassive black hole with 24 million solar masses. It is actively accreting material and emitting light energy equivalent to 40 billion suns. MIRI looks through the dust surrounding this black hole to reveal the strikingly bright active galactic core. In MIRI’s eyes, it’s so bright it even features the signature JWST lace pattern.

(Source: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)

The first-ever fine-phase image ever released by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows a single image of a star, complete with six prominent diffraction peaks (and two less prominent ones), with background stars and galaxies behind. The background galaxies came as a surprise to astronomers; JWST maps the universe with approximately twice the performance precision it was designed for. Even images like this, not originally developed for scientific purposes, can prove useful as a unique and unexpected source of data for astronomers studying the Universe.

(Source: NASA/STScI)

The Unexpected Science You Missed From James Webb’s First Pictures

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