James Webb Space Telescope

[touchingcloth]

Well you know variety is the spice of life.

Its nothing to do with being "passable scientists" it is a stylist decision, you might not find people's faux-laughter at their own amazeballs comments annoying.  I do.

And that is fine.

I think that you're off the mark with the bolded bit. Not that it isn't an annoying thing which should be consigned to the bin, just that I don't get those vibes from that particular video - it's just someone who seems enthused about their subject talking - and this is pretty crucial - off the cuff, in a live rather than edited video. There's not much laughing in the video, and nothing that personally strikes me as an "amazeballs" comment.

[NoSleep]

Yeah, she's genuinely excited about the potential of the JWST. But hey, let's not let TP make yet another thread all about themself.

[TrenterPercenter]

Jesus! trying to reach into that rubbish now.  Let me end that bullshit right now for you.

She's fine, I appreciate she is just enthusiastic, my bad for thinking it was a bit OTT.  You've got to hand to her.

[Zetetic]

You're both wrong; her behaviour is a poor attempt to cover for the fact that the JWST has been broken since launch and she knows it.

We're going to be subject to a decade of scientists gurning at us over synthetic data - and I mean 'subject to', please don't correct me.

[TrenterPercenter]

If it makes NoSleep and TC feel any better, after reviewing the video again I've realised that Dr Becky looks almost identical to an ex-girlfriend of mine, who wasn't an astrophysicist but was really nice and lovely, we still get on great as it happens.

[NoSleep]

JWST has now cooled down to its operating temperature:

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Bad news for anoraks, I'm sat ight next to to the james webb space telephone and I just did a big warm fart

[NoSleep]

A couple of videos tracking the progress here:

From the 2nd video is this comparison of JWST to previous infrared telescopes:

[Replies From View]

from WISE to JWST

...and an arrow pointing at your dad

[The Dog]

JWST has now cooled down to its operating temperature

Not bad. Took my wife at least a couple of years.

[touchingcloth]

I want to hear more about the farting. Please tell more about the farting.

[Alberon]

A new image comparing the new telescope to the retired Spitzer infra-red space telescope.



This shot is of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a smaller galaxy not far away from our own.

The James Webb telescope is still on target to produce its first scientific observations in mid-July.

[Zero Gravitas]

That diffraction pattern ruins it for me.

Better luck on the NGRST in 2025 lads, acronym is still a bit iffy though.

[Bence Fekete]

Can i get insurance on my life insurance?

[NoSleep]

That diffraction pattern ruins it for me.

Life Reality imitating art.

[Johnny Yesno]

Probably the space anus that just dropped those.

_{(Any excuse to re-post this old wimblewrong shot)}

[NoSleep]

A new image comparing the new telescope to the retired Spitzer infra-red space telescope.

Ahem:

From the 2nd video is this comparison of JWST to previous infrared telescopes:

[J Peasemould Gruntfuttock]

It took weeks to get its Mid Infrared Instrument down to -266 degrees centigrade, just 7 degrees above Absolute Zero.

They should have asked Priti Patel to breathe on it - that would have done the trick in seconds.

[Alberon]

One of the mirrors has already been hit by a micrometeorite. Damn alien yobs!

Analysis indicates the mirror segment known as C3 - one of the 18 beryllium-gold tiles that make up Webb's 6.5m-wide primary reflector - was struck. The contact left a "dimple" in the segment, Nasa told the Reuters news agency.

The speed at which things move through space means even the smallest particles can impart a lot of energy when colliding with another object. Webb has now been hit five times with this latest event being the most significant.

Engineers will adjust the positioning of the affected mirror segment to cancel out a portion of the introduced distortion, but they can't remove it all.

Apparently when known meteor showers are passing the telescope will be angled to protect the mirrors as best as possible, but you can't predict random bits of rock smacking into it now and then.

Even with the damage the telescope is still performing above expectation. The first science-quality images from it should be available on the 12th July. At the moment we don't know what targets have been selected for observation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61744257

[Mr_Simnock]

it's going to look for keiths first actual policy, might not be powerfull enough though

[Alberon]

We still have to wait until 12th July for NASA to release the first images, but they held a news conference to tease us today.

"The images are being taken right now," said Thomas Zurbuchen, who leads NASA's scientific programs, during a news conference on Wednesday. "There is already some amazing science in the can, and some others are yet to be taken as we go forward. We are in the middle of getting the history-making data down."

NASA said it plans to release several images beginning at 10:30 am ET (14:30 UTC) on July 12, the result of Webb's "first light" observations. On Wednesday, space agency officials said the images and other data would include the deepest-field image of the universe ever taken—looking further into the cosmos than humans ever have before—as well as the spectrum of an atmosphere around an exoplanet. By looking in the infrared, Webb will be able to identify the fingerprints of small molecules, such as carbon dioxide and ozone, that will offer meaningful clues about the habitability of worlds around other stars.

[bgmnts]

Sorry but aliens or fuck off.

I want a still image of a weird alien looking out the starship window pointing and laughing at us.

[Keebleman]

By looking in the infrared, Webb will be able to identify the fingerprints of small molecules, such as carbon dioxide and ozone, that will offer meaningful clues about the habitability of worlds around other stars.

Yep - I called it!  It was me who predicted this!

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=80283.0

So extraterrestrial life was discovered by me, basically.  Hope they raise a statue to me as a result.  Only a small one, I'm not vain.  Or maybe rename my town after me.

[Bennett Brauer]

"There is already some amazing science in the can, and some others are yet to be taken as we go forward. We are in the middle of getting the history-making data down."

Not exactly poetry, is it? I'm excited though, no doubt about it (if I may quote Hot Chocolate's UFO-related classic).

Sorry but aliens or fuck off.

I want a still image of a weird alien looking out the starship window pointing and laughing at us.

I'd like them to be laughing with us... and at you.

One of the things that keeps me going in this cockeyed caravan is living long enough to see the discovery of exoplanetary life. (In NASA's words I'd be like wow and shit.)

[Bence Fekete]

If this is competition, would like to go on record saying:

1.  universe, fucking teeming
2.  aliens, we are yes. also, live in your head like a drive in
3.  planet earth, conscious; contactable
4.  fireball orb angels in sky; real, contactable, cheeky little sods
5.  telepathy, remote viewing, dream invasions - we could prove these technologies to a scientific standard yesterday if we wanted
6.  in spite of all of the above, everyone will now spend the next ten years fawning slash bickering over an electromagnetic wisp

EDIT: and 7. God is seven

[Zero Gravitas]

Does the Webb have sufficient resolution to see the massive intercontinental transport networks, megacities, space platforms and pocking of radioactive craters these aliens left behind?

[Uncle TechTip]

Sorry but aliens or fuck off.

I want a still image of a weird alien looking out the starship window pointing and laughing at us.

No aliens but we might detect the remnants of alien farts.

[Mr_Simnock]

10pm today Biden is apparently going to show one of the first deep sky images from WEBB.

[Alberon]

There's this photo from near the end of the test phase that was released a few days ago.



And last week they did release a list of the targets they'll be showing photos from tomorrow.

•    Carina Nebula: The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun.
•     WASP-96 b (spectrum): WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014.
•     Southern Ring Nebula: The Southern Ring, or "Eight-Burst" nebula, is a planetary nebula – an expanding cloud of gas, surrounding a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and is located approximately 2,000 light years away from Earth.
•     Stephan's Quintet: About 290 million light-years away, Stephan's Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus. It is notable for being the first compact galaxy group ever discovered in 1877. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters.
•     SMACS 0723: Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a deep field view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations.

The planet mentioned is clearly not going to be life bearing since it's about the size of Saturn and is close enough to its star that it orbits in just several days.

Seems a big deal if Biden is revealing one image tonight. I wonder if it's one on the list or a surprise.

[bgmnts]

A whole bog roll used in a day at the white house shitter, reports confirm.