<허블 우주망원경(왼쪽)과 제임스 웹 우주망원경 주경 크기 비교. 사진=유럽우주국(ESA)>
It’s been a year since the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST; Webb) released four pictures to the public.
During the 12 months that the Web published the photos, the general public was amazed at their ability to capture even the tiniest of light, and the scientific community cheered for an unexpected discovery.
On the 12th (local time), the American media Business Insider compared and analyzed the astronomical photos taken by Webb with those taken by Hubble, a space telescope, in celebration of the first anniversary of the release of Web photos.
Rings of Uranus… Web caught 11 in just 12 minutes
<허블(왼쪽)에는 가장 바깥쪽 고리만 촬영된 반면 웹에는 13개 중 11개가 찍혔다. 사진=NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI>
In April, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released new photos of the icy planet Uranus in the solar system.
Farrani’s glowing Uranus was similar to the one taken by Hubble, but above all, attention was drawn to the sharp rings surrounding it. Although Uranus has rings like Saturn, it is difficult to capture with a space telescope because it is made of rock and dust that does not reflect sunlight.
In 1986, NASA’s Voyager 2 probe and the Keck Observatory teamed up to discover the first two rings, but this was due to Voyager 2’s proximity to Uranus.
Hubble also photographed the two outermost rings in 2022, but Webb clearly captured 11 of the 13 rings in just 12 minutes of filming.
Sharp infrared eyes to Jupiter auroras and storms
<이전까지 사진에는 나타나지 않았던 목성의 오로라가 웹에 선명히 촬영됐다. 사진=NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI>
Last August, Webb set his sights on Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.
The Great Red Spot, a giant storm, and the streaks across the planet were as known to mankind, but the polar regions were different.
Webb’s image of Jupiter shows its poles glowing. Jupiter, which has a magnetic field 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s, produces the most powerful auroras in the solar system.
On the other hand, the reason why Jupiter, which had only been seen in ocher color, appeared blue to Webb’s eyes was not in visible light like Hubble’s, but because it synthesized three pictures taken with a near-infrared camera (NIRCam) with three special infrared filters of red, yellow-green, and blue. .
The Southern Ring Nebula “really had two stars in the center”
<웹의 중적외선 장비(MIRI)으로는 중심에 별이 2개라는 것을 더욱 선명하게 볼 수 있다. 사진=NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI>
The Southern Ring Nebula, also known as the Eight-Burst Nebula, was one of the first images published by Webb on July 12 last year.
In the Southern Ring Nebula, a dying star continues to ripple and push dust outward. Scientists knew there were two stars at the center of the nebula, but to Hubble the single star appeared like a small dot.
However, when observed through the web, two stars in the center of the nebula clearly shined. Also nearby were three stars shining in a nebula. Even the long-gone light was captured by Webb’s sharp eye.
The ‘Scattering Field of Stars’ reveals the true value of the web
<용골자리 성운에서 '우주 절벽' 아래에 이제 막 탄생한 어린 별. 허블(왼쪽)에서는 우주 먼지에 막혀 보이지 않지만 웹에서는 보인다. 사진=NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI>
Webb’s sharp field of view can be confirmed when shooting the so-called ‘star scattering field’ where new stars are born.
Stars are usually born surrounded by a thick layer of cosmic dust and gas, and the webs penetrate this thick ‘cocoon’ and capture even faint light clearly.
This can be seen in the Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula was also included in the first picture released last year. In particular, the upper left of the image is where young stars are forming. Numerous stars that were invisible when taken by Hubble have made their presence felt in images from the Web.
In 20 hours, to the distant light hidden in a black space
<허블(왼쪽)의 대표 사진 중 하나인 '울트라 딥 필드' 영역을 웹이 단 20시간 촬영으로 얻어냈다. 사진=NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI>
Deep field, one of the first five chapters published by Webb. This deep field, Hubble’s first attempt, refers to taking pictures of outer space where nothing can be seen.
The Ultra Deep Fields, taken in 2003 and 2022 by Hubble and Webb, respectively, look similar at first glance. However, it made a huge difference in time. These huge space telescope projects are literally ‘time is money’. An astronomical amount of money goes into operating it for just one day.
In 2003, Hubble took just 11.3 days to complete this image. It was obtained by taking 800 images during Hubble’s 400 orbits around the Earth. On the other hand, Webb proved its performance by taking photos that surpassed those of Hubble in just 20 hours.
Electronic Newspaper Internet Reporter Seo Hee-won shw@etnews.com
