First Targets of James Webb Space Telescope Announced

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) finally launched the James Webb Space Telescope on December 25, after many years of delays. As the telescope started to observe space slowly, the highly anticipated announcement came the other day.

NASA announced that the first color image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope will be shared on July 12 at 00.00. In addition, it was shared that other images taken by the Telescope will be published on July 12, 17.30 CET. So, what parts and structures of space will James Webb offer us images from?

James Webb can post color photos of these structures!

The answer to this question was again given by NASA. NASA shared the list of targets that James Webb took to make his first observations. Accordingly, all of James Webb’s observations to be shared on July 12 may belong to the following structures:

Carina Nebula

Located about 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina, the Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky.

WASP-96 b exoplanet

WASP-96 b is a giant gas planet outside our solar system. Located about 1,150 light-years from Earth, the exoplanet orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter and its discovery was announced in 2014.

NGC 3132 planetary nebula

NGC 3132, also referred to as the Southern Ring or “Eight Burst” nebula, is a planetary nebula, an expanding gas cloud surrounding a dying star. It is located about 2,000 light-years from Earth and is about half a light-year in diameter.

Stephen’s Quintet

Located about 290 million light-years away, the Stephan Quintet is located in the Pegasus constellation. It is notable for being the first compact galaxy group discovered in 1877.

SMACS 0723 zone

SMACS 0723 is a field where large clusters of galaxies move in harmony, giving us the chance to see objects from the early Universe.