NASA’s Top Telescope and Its Impact on Astronomy – Video

NASA’s Top Telescope and Its Impact on Astronomy – Video

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revolutionized the field of astronomy with its impressive capabilities. This giant, golden eye in space is like the superhero of telescopes, equipped with X-ray vision for infrared light. With its impressive mirror, JWST can capture distant cosmic wonders six times faster than its predecessor, the Hubble telescope.

The JWST has provided groundbreaking insights into the universe, from exploring the birthplaces of stars and planets to unraveling the mysteries of ancient galaxies. Its ability to see in the infrared spectrum allows it to peer through the dust and gas clouds of nebulae and observe the formation of new stars.

One of its remarkable discoveries includes WASP-39 b, a planet with a hot and steamy atmosphere filled with various elements. JWST’s infrared vision has also unveiled the secrets of the Tarantula Nebula, a cosmic nursery of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

The JWST’s cutting-edge technology and capabilities have opened up a new realm of possibilities for astronomers, allowing us to witness the wonders of the universe in stunning detail. As we continue to explore the depths of space, the JWST remains an invaluable tool for unraveling the mysteries of our cosmos.

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Video Transcript

Are you tired of your regular, boring,  Earth-bound telescopes that can barely   see past the moon? Well, get ready, because  we’re about to take a ride on the James Webb   Space Telescope. It’s like Hubble went to  the gym, got ripped, and now it’s flexing  

Its golden muscles in the infrared! But before we get into it, let’s give that   like button a playful poke and subscribe for a  wild ride through the coolest videos in town!   Ring-a-ding that bell to join the party.  You won’t want to miss the cool stuff we’ve  

Got ready. We’re excited to share it with  you. Now, let’s get the ball rolling!   Imagine a giant golden eye, 6.5 meters wide,  winking at us from space with its 18 shiny   hexagonal segments. This isn’t sci-fi; it’s  the James Webb Space Telescope or (JWST),  

It’s super big, making the Hubble telescope seem  as small as those little binoculars you use to   watch birds! With its massive mirror, JWST  can gulp down light like a thirsty camel,   spotting distant cosmic wonders six times quicker  than its older cousin Hubble. It’s like swapping  

A flashlight for a lighthouse as we peek into  the universe’s mysterious corners where stars   are born and galaxies throw their first tantrums.  And all this, thanks to a Christmas Day liftoff   in 2021 that was more than just a rocket ride;  it was a dream come true for astronomers!  

The JWST is like a superhero with X-ray vision,  but for infrared light! It can peek at wavelengths   from 0.6 to 28.5 micrometers, which is like seeing  from the reddest red to the middle of the infrared  

Party. The Hubble Telescope is cool and all, but  it’s more of a visible light kind of guy. Now,   JWST won’t give you super-detailed selfies like  Hubble does, because as the wavelengths get   longer, the details get fuzzier. But hey,  it’s the thought that counts, right?  

With its infrared goggles on, JWST takes us on  a time travel trip back to when galaxies were   just babies, less than a billion years after the  Big Bang. These ancient light shows started as   ultraviolet and visible light, but the universe’s  stretching turned them into infrared signals.  

It’s like the universe challenged everyone to a  game of “Red Light, Green Light,” and JWST is the   sneaky one still tiptoeing forward! You know, humans can’t see infrared,   so the colors in JWST’s snapshots are a bit of a  remix. Scientists play with the colors, turning  

Longer wavelengths into reds and shorter ones  into blues, kind of like a DJ mixing beats.   The JWST has a talent for remixing colors,  but that’s not all it can do. It can also   keep an eye on the weather in space. It’s been  looking at Titan, one of Saturn’s big moons,  

And checking out how cold Pluto is. It even  saw an asteroid get bumped by NASA’s space   mission. It’s like a weather reporter for space,  telling us all about the storms up there!   But there’s more to the galaxy than our  solar system, you know, the over 5,000  

Known exoplanets in our galaxy remain a mystery.  While we typically know their orbits and often   their sizes and masses, most other information  lies beyond the reach of Earth-based telescopes   and even Hubble. But there’s a hero: JWST. And  it’s already showing us some cool stuff.  

WASP-39 b: A hot and steamy world. This planet  is so close to its star that it sizzles at 1,650   degrees Fahrenheit (900 degrees Celsius).  That’s hotter than a pizza oven! JWST peeked   into its atmosphere and found water, sulfur  dioxide, carbon monoxide, sodium, potassium,  

And carbon dioxide. Wow, that’s a lot of stuff!  Maybe it’s trying to make some kind of cosmic   soup. This was the first time we ever saw carbon  dioxide in an exoplanet. Good job, JWST!   WASP-39 b is a planet with a lot of personality.  It has a lot of different things in its  

Atmosphere, but JWST is not impressed. It  can see much more with its infrared eyes,   such as the birthplaces of stars and planets,  the huge clouds of gas and dust that astronomers   call nebulae. They are very pretty, but they  also keep their secrets hidden from our eyes.  

We need a special kind of light, called  infrared, to see what is going on inside   them. JWST’s infrared vision has started  to open up these environments for us.   And one of its first targets was a small portion  of the Eagle Nebula (M16). This Nebula is like  

A nursery where stars are born from the dust  and gas of a giant cloud. Hubble showed us the   majestic “Pillars of Creation”, but they hid the  secrets of the young stars inside. JWST lifted   the veil and revealed a dazzling view of this  stellar cradle, 6,500 light-years away.  

While Hubble saw dark and cold shapes, JWST saw  bright and hot stars. Some of them have already   come out of their dusty shells and glow with their  own light. You can tell them apart by the spikes  

Around them, a sign of JWST’s mirror. But some  of them are still growing and feeding from the   cloud. They are so young that they sometimes burp  out jets of gas that crash into the surrounding  

Material and make it glow. You can see them as  red spots near the ends of the lower pillars. They   are the newest members of the starry family,  only a few hundred thousand years old.   These stars are just a glimpse of what JWST can  explore. There are other areas like the Large  

And Small Magellanic Clouds, the biggest and  shiniest friends of the Milky Way. They take   us back to when the universe was a baby and  stars were popping up everywhere. This period,   called the cosmic noon, shaped the galaxies  we see today. And the coolest place to watch  

This star show is the Tarantula Nebula. The Tarantula Nebula is a cosmic spider that spins   stars like silk. It is the biggest and brightest  nursery of new stars in our galactic neighborhood,   only 160,000 light-years away in the Large  Magellanic Cloud. Its heart is a dazzling  

Cluster of massive stars called R136, which  blast away the surrounding gas with their   powerful radiation and winds. This creates a  huge bubble that reveals the hidden secrets   of star formation in the early universe. The  Tarantula Nebula is a time machine that takes  

Us back to the era of cosmic noon, when galaxies  were making stars at their peak rate. JWST lets us   see this amazing sight in stunning detail. So, yes JWST is awesome, but let’s switch gears   and talk about something closer to home, like our  YouTube channel. You won’t regret checking out  

Our other videos, because we have something  for everyone. Whether you’re into aliens,   black holes, or Mars, we’ve got you covered. Don’t  just take our word for it, see for yourself. How   about learning how scientists discovered the  strongest evidence for extraterrestrial life,  

How black holes devour stars like snacks, or what  strange things are going on the red planet? Yes,   Mars is getting more interesting by the day,  but it might be a very tough place for the   brave astronauts who will go there. Luckily, they  will get massive help from AI. But how can AI make  

Space exploration a piece of cake? All these  topics and more are waiting for you to click.   But hey, hang on, don’t close this tab yet. I have  a special surprise for you. Are you curious? Well,   here it is… If you liked this video, please  show some love by clicking the thumbs-up button,  

Sharing it with your friends, and joining  our awesome space community by subscribing   and hitting the notification bell. Believe me,  it’s not rocket science, but it really makes a   huge difference for us. Thank you for watching.  Stay tuned for more incredible space videos.

Video “NASA’s Best Telescope: How JWST Changed Astronomy” was uploaded on 02/23/2024 to Youtube Channel Sagan’s Sandbox

The post “NASA’s Top Telescope and Its Impact on Astronomy – Video ” by GretAi was published on 02/24/2024 by news.gretai.com