The James Webb Space Telescope sends the first sharp image of the galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope has sent its first accurate image since arriving at its destination 1.5 million kilometers from Earth in late January. This means that the mirrors above the telescope have lined up and entered a new phase.

The telescope was pointed at the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies, for testing. Thousands of stars can be distinguished individually in the image. The telescope sent the image before, but it wasn’t sharp enough.

Tests have shown that all four instruments that analyze the light collected in the telescope are now capable of producing sharp images. One of these tools is the part Dutch MIRI machine. Ewen van Dyschewek, professor of astronomy at Leiden University, said: Radio NOS 1 Newsable to

“sound only”

Van Dishoeck helped develop the device and said the cooling was “fun”. “Our engine has to be cooler than the other three engines on the ship. Because if the MIRI engine is not cold, we will only see noise in the image.”

In the photos, the stars can be distinguished one by one for the first time. Van Dishoeck: “But our MIRI instrument also sees a lot more. He also saw dust from interstellar clouds. You can see it very well in the first picture. When I saw it, my heart started beating a little bit faster.”

James Webb is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. This telescope is able to collect light from stars and galaxies, allowing a look back to the last 13 billion years. Before the first scientific results are expected this summer, a number of tests still need to be carried out.

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