Latest news with #NIRCam
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
JWST peers through a cosmic lens in 'deepest gaze' to date
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The James Webb Space Telescope captured this stunning image of a galaxy cluster so massive that it serves a gravitational lens, warping the light and revealing more distant galaxies from the early universe. Abell S1063 is a cluster of galaxies that displays a strong gravitational lens effect, in which the light from distant galaxies behind the cluster is bent around it due to Abell S1063's mass, which creates a curvature in spacetime and forms the warped arcs that appear to surround it in the image. JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) was able to use this effect, previously observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, to reveal a multitude of faint galaxies and previously unseen features. Galaxy cluster Abell S1063 lies about 4.5 billion light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Grus, the Crane. The distorted background galaxies are at a range of cosmic distances. JWST is adept at taking these types of images, known as a "deep field." When making these images, the telescope takes a long exposure of a single area of the sky in order to gather as much light as possible. Doing so can help the telescope see distant, faint galaxies that other observatories can't. "With 9 separate snapshots of different near-infrared wavelengths of light, totalling around 120 hours of observing time and aided by the magnifying effect of gravitational lensing, this is Webb's deepest gaze on a single target to date," the European Space Agency wrote in a statement. "Focusing such observing power on a massive gravitational lens, like Abell S1063, therefore has the potential to reveal some of the very first galaxies formed in the early universe." You can learn more about gravitational lensing and how the James Webb Space Telescope was pushed to its limits to see the most distant galaxies. You can also see the Hubble Space Telescope's view of galaxy cluster Abell S1063.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
In Photos: Webb Telescope Reveals Massive Auroras On Jupiter
These observations of Jupiter's auroras were captured with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's ... More NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on Dec. 25, 2023. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed enormous swirling auroras on Jupiter for the first time. Hundreds of times more intense and brighter than those seen on Earth, they're caused both by high-energy particles from the sun but also from Jupiter's moon, Io — the most volcanic body in the solar system. The stunning images below reveal how the gas giant's magnetic field and atmospheric dynamics combine to produce something truly unique in the solar system. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our solar system's ... More largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. All auroras occur when high-energy particles enter a planet's atmosphere near its magnetic poles. The particles, which travel to a planet from the sun as the solar wind, then collide with gas atoms in a planet's atmosphere to produce photons of light. That's a textbook explanation for Earth and Jupiter, but the gas giant planet has something extra that makes its auroras significantly more intense. Captured on December 25, 2023, using its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), the Webb Telescope's images of Jupiter's auroral emissions were possible because it can detect emissions from trihydrogen cation, a molecule formed when high-energy electrons strike molecular hydrogen. The resulting emission — high up in Jupiter's atmosphere — is bright in infrared light, which Webb is uniquely sensitive to. It's thought that Jupiter's strong magnetic field grabs charged particles from its surroundings — not only those from the solar wind but also those thrown into space by the large volcanoes on its moon Io. Aurora on Jupiter, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2014. Although Webb saw the auroras on Jupiter in 2023, the Hubble Space Telescope did not — despite the same observations being made simultaneously in the ultraviolet light by both space observatories. 'Bizarrely, the brightest light observed by Webb had no real counterpart in Hubble's pictures," said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester in the U.K., who led the research. "This has left us scratching our heads. In order to cause the combination of brightness seen by both Webb and Hubble, we need to have a combination of high quantities of very low-energy particles hitting the atmosphere, which was previously thought to be impossible. We still don't understand how this happens.' Hubble photographed aurora around Jupiter's poles in 2016, which were also overseen by Nichols. The James Webb Space Telescope's 2022 image of Jupiter. Arguably, one of the most spectacular images of Jupiter ever taken was one from the Webb Telescope in 2022, as part of the Early Release Science program shortly after it began science operations. The image above, of Jupiter on July 27, 2022, was taken using Webb's NIRCam infrared instrument and showed the giant planet's mighty storms (including its 'Great Red Spot,' an Earth-sized anticyclonic storm), cloud bands, rings and unprecedented views of the planet's auroras over its north and south poles. The jaw-dropping image can be downloaded from the European Space Agency website. These observations of Jupiter's auroras (shown on the left of the above image) at 3.36 microns ... More (F335M) were captured with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on Dec. 25, 2023. Webb is the most ambitious and complex space science telescope ever constructed, with a massive 6.5-meter primary mirror that will be able to detect the faint light of far-away stars and galaxies. It's designed to detect infrared light emitted by distant stars, planets and clouds of gas and dust. During its initial 10-year mission, which began in 2022, Webb will study the solar system, directly image exoplanets, photograph the first galaxies, and explore the mysteries of the origins of the Universe. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Euronews
15-05-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Stunning new James Webb images capture Jupiter's 'northern lights'
Auroras on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth, new images from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed. The solar system's largest planet displays striking dancing lights when high-energy particles from space collide with atoms of gas in the atmosphere near its magnetic poles, similar to how the aurora borealis, or the Northern lights, are triggered on Earth. But Jupiter's version has much greater intensity, according to an international team of scientists who analysed the photos from Webb taken on Christmas in 2023. Webb previously captured Neptune's glowing auroras in the best detail yet, many decades after they were first faintly detected during a flyby of the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Auroras on Earth are caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with gases and atoms in the atmosphere near the planet's poles, causing streaks of dancing light in the sky. On Jupiter, additional factors are at play other than solar wind. High-energy particles are also drawn from other sources, including Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. Jupiter's large magnetic field then accelerates these particles to tremendous speeds, hundreds of times faster than the auroras on Earth. The particles slam into the planet's atmosphere, causing gases to glow. James Webb has been able to give more details about how they are formed on Jupiter due to its unique capabilities. The new data and images were captured with its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on December 25, 2023, by a team of scientists led by Jonathan Nichols from the UK's University of Leicester. "What a Christmas present it was – it just blew me away!" said Nichols. "We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so. Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second". The findings were published on Monday in the journal Nature Communications.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Jupiter's auroras put Earth's to shame. NASA's Webb just got a stunning look at them
If you thought the flickering green and red auroras of Earth were spectacular, that's nothing compared to Jupiter. New observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have revealed that the dancing lights on our solar system's largest planet are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. The enormous display recently documented in infrared by Webb – and compared to ultraviolet data from the Hubble Space Telescope – has raised unexpected questions about Jupiter's extreme environment. It goes without saying that us humans won't ever be getting a first-person glimpse of Jupiter's auroras – unlike the northern lights that unveil themselves here on Earth every now and again. But thanks to Webb, we can at least enjoy some spectacular photos of the stunning phenomenon. Black holes: NASA finds supermassive black hole called 'Space Jaws' feasting on wayward stars Here's a look at what the NASA James Webb Space Telescope captured, and what to know about Jupiter's auroral activity: Auroras are created when high-energy particles enter a planet's atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms or molecules of gas. On Earth, these are known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) and the southern lights, or aurora australis. Earth's auroras form when charged particles from the sun rain down on the planet's upper atmosphere to unleash solar storms, which energize gases and caused them to glow in shades of red, green and purple. The natural light display in Earth's sky is famously best seen in high-latitude regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. But it can sometimes be more widely visible if a particularly powerful solar flare hits Earth's magnetosphere, the barrier protecting humanity from the harshest effects of space weather. Jupiter's auroras, though, put Earth's to shame. Not only are the auroras on Jupiter gigantic, they are hundreds of times more energetic than those in Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. That's because the gas giant has something of an advantage: the planet's strong magnetic field is capable of grabbing charged particles from not only the sun, but its orbiting moon Io. Io is an infamous world teeming with violent volcanoes spewing particles that can escape the moon's gravity and sneak into Jupiter's orbit. As Jupiter captures all of the charged particles, its magnetic field accelerates them to tremendous speeds before they slam into the planet's atmosphere to stir up gas, causing it to glow. Now, Webb's powerful instruments are helping scientists on Earth understand more about the auroras on Jupiter – challenging previous assumptions about the planet's magnetic field and particle interactions. Data captured Dec. 25, 2023, with Webb's s Near-Infrared Camera, or NIRCam, was recently analyzed by a team of scientists led by Jonathan Nichols, an astronomer at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. By studying the emissions created in the planet's auroras, scientists expected to learn how quickly the auroras change. They expected to see them fade in and out, but instead, "we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second,' Nichols said in a statement. 'It just blew me away," he added. The observations will help scientists better understand how Jupiter's upper atmosphere is heated and cooled, according to the researchers. The team also intends to conduct more observations with Webb, which they can compare with data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter for nine years. The research was published May 12, 2025, in the journal Nature Communications. In other Jupiter-related news, a robotic spacecraft on its way to study another Jovian moon recently made a pitstop at Mars. The Europa Clipper probe, which is on a 1.8 billion-mile journey to the moon Europa, is traveling past Mars and Earth – a trajectory that allows it to use both planets' gravity as a slingshot to add speed to the trek. While recently swinging by Mars, the uncrewed vehicle took the opportunity March 1 to capture some infrared images of the Red Planet, which NASA shared on May 12. NASA says the data will help mission scientists determine whether the spacecraft's thermal imaging instrument is operating correctly before the Clipper reaches its destination. NASA launched the uncrewed Europa Clipper in October 2024 from Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a far-reaching journey to one of Jupiter's many moons, where water is believed to exist beneath an icy surface. Once the orbiter reaches the icy moon Europa in 2030, it will begin scouring the surface from above to look for signs that life could thrive. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA's Webb telescope unveils stunning auroras on Jupiter: See photos
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare video from Webb telescope shows Aurora lights on Jupiter
Space telescopes don't take holidays off, which is why Nasa's James Webb Space Telescope's powerful instruments were trained on Jupiter on Christmas Day 2023, capturing some of the most detailed images yet of the dancing aurora lights on the gas giant, a new study revealed this week. Aurora lights are created from space weather as high-energy particles enter a planet's atmosphere. On Earth, we have auroras known as the Northern and Southern Lights at the poles. However, Jupiter – being a giant planet 11 times wider than Earth – has massive auroras, hundreds of times more energetic than those we see on our planet. Jupiter also has an additional source for auroras besides solar wind, as charged particles from its moon Io are constantly crashing into its parent planet. See It: Hubble Telescope Spots Oddly Shaped Galaxy With Spiral Arm On Dec. 25, 2023, a team of scientists led by Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom used Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) to photograph Jupiter's fast-moving auroras in an attempt to see how quickly they evolve. Their findings were published this week in the journal Nature Communications. "What a Christmas present it was – it just blew me away!" Nichols said in a NASA release. "We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so. Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second." The team found emissions of trihydrogen cation (H3+) more variable than previously estimated and discovered something new and mysterious about Jupiter's auroras. The brightest areas seen by Webb's NIRCam were invisible to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The two images below show the side-by-side observations from Webb (left) and Hubble's ultraviolet light on the right. How To Watch Fox Weather Nichols said this discrepancy left the team scratching their heads."In order to cause the combination of brightness seen by both Webb and Hubble, we need to have a combination of high quantities of very low-energy particles hitting the atmosphere, which was previously thought to be impossible," he said. More research is needed to understand the implications of Jupiter's space environment, including using data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which is currently orbiting the Jovian article source: Rare video from Webb telescope shows Aurora lights on Jupiter
