(ORDO NEWS) — NASA has released stunning images of Jupiter taken by the groundbreaking James Webb Super Telescope.
One of the infrared images (below) is so detailed that it shows the gas giant’s three satellites and the thin ring system surrounding it.
The pictures are also remarkable in that they make it clear: the new telescope is a way to study not only deep space, but also objects of the solar system , most of which we have a lot of questions.
NASA Local Research “James Webb”
For example, a new space telescope could find out once and for all whether Europa ‘s geysers are spewing clean water vapor that could be associated with the supposed subsurface ocean.
This would certainly bring us closer to finding out if Jupiter’s tiny moon could be home to extraterrestrial life.
“I think this is one of the coolest things we can do with this telescope in the solar system,” said Stephanie Milam, a NASA planetary scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Deputy Scientist for the Space James Webb Telescope for Planetary Science.
The scientists were also able to find out that the telescope is up to the task of photographing relatively fast-moving targets such as planets and moons.
Space “backyard”
These images of the Jupiter system were taken before the telescope officially began scientific operations on July 12, after the release of gorgeous deep space images .
“Combined with the deep space images released recently, these images of Jupiter give us a complete understanding of what Webb [James Webb Space Telescope] can observe – from the faintest, most distant galaxies to planets in our own cosmic backyard, which you can see with the naked eye from your real backyard,” commented Brian Holler, a scientist at the Institute for Space Studies with the Space Telescope in Baltimore.
This is an incredibly good start for a space observatory with more than 10,000 people working on it. And we can’t wait to see the new James Webb targets in the solar system showcased in all their glory.
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