{"id":33514,"date":"2022-07-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=33514"},"modified":"2022-07-21T14:10:04","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T14:10:04","slug":"bulletin-countdown-to-webbs-first-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2022\/07\/20\/bulletin-countdown-to-webbs-first-images\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin: Countdown to Webb\u2019s first images"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
BULLETIN <\/span><\/h5>\n\n

Countdown to Webb\u2019s first images<\/h2>\n\n

After numerous hitches, the 6.5m telescope is finally ready to observe <\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
A micrometeorite strike to a primary mirror segment is the latest snag that the Webb team has had to overcome <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

After six months <\/strong>of travelling, unfolding, calibrating and double checking, the James Webb Space Telescope is now fully operational and ready to begin exploring the infrared Universe. By the time you\u2019re reading this, the first science images should have already been released to the public, a first glimpse at what promises to be a deluge of discovery. <\/p>\n\n

If all goes to plan, the telescope will release its first \u2018teaser suite\u2019 of images on 12 July to demonstrate its capabilities before entering its full science phase. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cAs we near the end of preparing the observatory for science, we are on the precipice of an incredibly exciting period of discovery about our Universe,\u201d says Eric Smith, Webb\u2019s program scientist. \u201cThe release of Webb\u2019s first full-colour images will offer a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a view humanity has never seen before.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

However, the path to this point hasn\u2019t been completely without hurdles. Between 23 and 25 May, the 6.5m wide primary mirror was struck by a micrometeorite larger than any it had been tested to withstand. Initial tests found it did have a small effect on the telescope\u2019s data, though the Webb team have been able to partially cancel out the effects by adjusting the mirror positions. Even with the damage, the high level of engineering on Webb means it is operating with a greater precision than it was initially designed for, leaving astronomers the world over eagerly waiting to see what images it will be able to produce.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cThese images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent and dreams,\u201d says Smith. \u201cBut they will also be just the beginning.\u201d www.jwst.nasa.gov<\/a> <\/p>\n\n

\n\n
Comment by Chris Lintott<\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

A critical milestone went by almost unnoticed in June, as JWST\u2019s first observations started to be executed by the observatory \u2013 the point when science started to flow from astronomy\u2019s new toy. <\/p>\n\n

All over the world, astronomers are getting to grips with how to make the best of what JWST is sending them. Some have been planning for decades for this moment. Work continues to allow access to more advanced modes of operation, but it\u2019s remarkable to have reached this point already. As someone close to the commissioning team told me, they planned for what seems to have happened: everything going right. The reward for that hard work is about to arrive. <\/p>\n\n

Chris Lintott co-presents The Sky at Night <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Photos: ILLUSTRATION ADRIANA MANRIQUE GUTIERREZ\/NASA ANIMATO <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After numerous hitches, the 6.5m telescope is finally ready to observe <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":33513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"11","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"11","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_11-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_11-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"August-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"August-2022","purple_external_id":"August-2022-11-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"August-2022-11-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000086555||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000086555||","purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.207","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.skyatnight.207","purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.207","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.skyatnight.207","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"075fab74-0a21-4201-866a-899d6c41c40c","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[14],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c.jpg",1715,1371,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c-300x240.jpg",300,240,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c-768x614.jpg",768,614,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c-1024x819.jpg",800,640,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c-1536x1228.jpg",1536,1228,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/07\/77449228-aa57-472d-bd89-2ce0befd214c.jpg",1715,1371,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"After numerous hitches, the 6.5m telescope is finally ready to observe","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33514"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34208,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33514\/revisions\/34208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}