Webb Space Telescope’s Thin Orientation Sensor (FGS) offered an image of stars and galaxies, A preview of what Observatory instruments will begin to reveal on July 12.

FGS has always had image capture capability, but its primary purpose is to provide precise scientific measurements and accurate markup imaging. When you capture images, not normally kept. Given the limited communication bandwidth between L2 and Earth, Webb only sends data from up to two science instruments at a time. But during a week-long stability test in May, it occurred to the team that they could have the footage recorded because there was bandwidth.

The resulting Webb engineering test image, some rough qualities. It was not optimized as a scientific observation; instead, the data was taken to test how well the telescope could stay locked on a target, but points to the telescope’s power.

It features some of the views that Webb produced during post-launch preparations. Bright stars are noted for their six long, sharply defined diffraction peaks. mirror parts Webb’s hexagon. Beyond the stars, galaxies occupy almost the entire background.

result, using 72 exposures over 32 hoursAccording to Webb scientists, it is one of the deepest images of the universe ever taken. With the FGS aperture turned on, it does not use color filters like other scientific instruments.

This means that it is impossible to study the age of the galaxies in this image with the rigor necessary for scientific analysis. But even when capture unscheduled footage During a test, FGS is capable of producing stunning images of the cosmos.

The best image in the universe is coming July 12

Since this image was not created with a scientific result in mind, there are some features that are different from the full resolution images to be published. on 12 july. As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on June 29, these images will include, at least for a short time, the deepest view of the universe ever captured.

Colorized with FGS image same reddish color scheme applied to other Webb engineering images during commissioning. Also, there was no “hesitancy” during these exposures.

Flickering is the slight repositioning of the telescope between each exposure. Also, the centers of bright stars appear black because they saturate Webb’s detectors. Also, the orientation of the telescope did not change with exposures to capture the center of the pixels within the camera’s detectors. Overlapping frames of exposures can also be seen at the edges and corners of the image.

an image test

In this engineering test, the aim is to lock a star and test how well Webb can control his “order”; literally Webb’s ability to roll sideways like a flying airplane. This test was successful and produced an image that sparked the imaginations of scientists who would analyze Webb’s science data, said Jane Rigby, Webb operations scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“The faintest points in this image are the faint galaxy types Webb will be examining,” said Rigby.

Webb’s four scientific instruments finally will reveal the new vision The precise aiming sensor of the telescope universe, however, is the only tool to be used for every observation throughout the mission. FGS has already played a pivotal role in Webb’s optics lineup.