The James Webb Space Telescope captured a photo of Galaxy M74 in August with MIRI. Photo courtesy of Flickr.
By Diksha Batra ’26
Staff Writer
Since the James Webb Space Telescope was launched on Dec. 25, 2021, it has allowed the curiosity of the human mind to travel through space. The JWST has now been in space for almost nine months and has not disappointed with its remarkable discoveries. According to NASA’s webpage about the telescope’s first images, scientists over the past few months have been able to acquire “full-color, … seemingly three-dimensional” pictures using the JWST. The clarity of its images is a result of the telescope’s multiple sensors and four-foot long mirror which allow it to observe galaxies that were formed 13.5 billion years ago.
For example, NASA reported that the images of Neptune’s rings from the telescope are clearer than any from the past 30 years. The view of Neptune was also captured when Voyager 2 detected rings during a flyby in 1989. Jane Rigby, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, wrote to Scientific American: “For me, looking at JWST’s new Neptune image is like catching up with a friend you haven’t seen in ten-plus years — and they look [great],” she said.
Using the JWST, it is possible to see galaxies, such as IC 5332, in a new light, a view that was not possible with the Hubble Space Telescope. With the help of Hubble, scientists were able to learn that IC 5332 was a spiral galaxy and could see that the galaxy’s spiral arms are connected to each other. The JWST captures these images through a mid-infrared instrument, or MIRI. The MIRI covers a wavelength range of five to 28 microns and helps to detect light from distant galaxies, newly-forming stars and faintly visible comets.
The MIRI is a complicated technology, because it can only operate in seven degrees Kelvin, or -266.15 degrees Celsius. Cyroccoller, the instrument that cools the MIRI, is used because any vibrations or heat released from the JWST can interfere with data collecting.
As explained by NASA, the MIRI helps capture infrared light, which can pass through the interstellar dust, granting scientists a more detailed view of the galaxy. In comparison, the Hubble telescope could only collect ultraviolet light and visible light in order to capture images from the galaxy, the NASA article said. The article goes on to explain that while the Hubble Telescope makes locating dusty regions in the galaxy easier, the JWST ensures that these darker regions are no longer dark.
According to a NASA blog post, not everything has been running smoothly with all of the JWST’s sensors.
“On Aug. 24, a mechanism that supports [the MIRI] modes, known as the medium resolution spectroscopy, exhibited what appears to be increased friction during setup for a science observation,” the blog explained. “This mechanism is a grating wheel that allows scientists to select between short, medium and longer wavelengths when making observations using the MRS mode.”
“Webb and Hubble show what we’ve always known to be true at NASA,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in an article from the administration. “We learn more when we work together.”
According to a CBC news article, the JWST will continue to explore clusters of newly-found galaxies. It has already located clusters of stars formed just 500 million years after the Big Bang. As explained by NASA, these images from the JWST will build on the work of the Hubble telescope to guide NASA’s understandings of the oldest galaxies and to uncover the darkest secrets of the universe.