NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mirror exceeds expectations as alignment continues

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has completed another critical mirror alignment phase and released the highest-resolution infrared image ever taken from space.

Less than two months ago, the James Webb Space Telescope took its first pictures in space. The images were taken of the HD84406 star in the constellation Ursa Major and display Webb’s 18 mirror segments, which were not yet aligned to form a clear image. Scientists working at Webb have made small adjustments to the alignment of the mirrors over the past two months to produce a unified image from the telescope’s NIRCAM instrument, or primary imager.

On March 11, NASA announced the completion of the “fine phasing” phase of the alignment – ​​the second of seven increasingly microscopic phases. This critical step is very close to the final stage of alignment, but small adjustments will still need to be made. Ground controllers have been working for months to align the segments within a few nanometer-billionths of a second. It could be as late as the summer of 2022 before all of Webb’s instrumentation is fully calibrated and ready for use.

While the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star in the center for alignment evaluation, Webb’s optics and NIRCam are sensitive enough that galaxies and stars are visible in the background. In this phase of Webb’s mirror alignment, known as “fine phasing”, each primary mirror segment is adjusted to produce a unified image of the same star using only the NIRCam instrument. This image of the star, called 2MASS J17554042+6551277, uses a red filter to optimize visual contrast.
credit: NASA/STScI

However, upon completion of fine phasing, a new photo from deep space was taken and released. Even though Webb’s alignment will require additional adjustments in the near future, NASA claims that this photo of the star 2MASS J17554042+6551277, in nearly perfect alignment with Webb’s mirror segment, is the highest ever taken in space. -resolution image.

NASA issued a statement explaining how JWST is performing even better than expected. “Every optical parameter that has been tested and tested is performing at or above expectations. The team found no significant problems and no measurable contamination or obstruction in Webb’s optical path. The observatory successfully captured light from distant objects.” Able to assemble and deliver to my equipment without any problems.”

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said that “More than 20 years ago, the Webb team set out to build the most powerful telescope anyone has ever put in space, and one to meet the demand.” Came up with audacious optical design. Science goals. Today we can say that the design is about to deliver.

It will be months before Webb will be able to deliver actionable, calibrated images of the universe, but scientists and fans of the project alike are already hopeful and excited to see Webb’s discovery.

According to NASA, the next six weeks will be spent commissioning, calibrating, and testing complex scientific instruments including the Near-Infrared Spectrograph, the Mid-Infrared Instrument, and the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph. In this step of the process, an algorithm will evaluate the performance of each instrument and then calculate the final improvements needed to achieve a well-aligned telescope across all science instruments.

NASA claims the Webb team is on track to finish all aspects of the Optical Telescope Element alignment by early May, if not sooner, before moving on to about two months of science instrument preparation. If all goes according to plan, Webb’s first full-resolution imagery and science data will be released early this summer.

“Webb is the world’s premier space science observatory and, once fully operational, will help solve mysteries in our solar system, help us see the distant worlds around other stars, and the mysteries of our universe.” Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners at ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. (NASA)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope mirror exceeds expectations as alignment continues