NASA Releases Webb Space Telescope's First Images
2022-07-14
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1The American space agency NASA has released the first images observed by its powerful James Webb Space Telescope.
2NASA describes the Webb as "the largest and most powerful space science telescope ever built."
3The telescope is a joint partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.
4The orbiting observatory aims to build on the work of earlier telescopes, such as the Hubble and Spitzer.
5Both of those telescopes led to many discoveries and captured detailed and colorful images.
6But the Webb is designed to gather more in-depth data and explore parts of space never observed before.
7NASA released five new images this week.
8 The first was shown Monday during a White House event attended by President Joe Biden.
9The new images showed parts of the universe observed by other telescopes in the past.
10But NASA officials said the Webb's power, distant position, and ability to observe infrared light brought more depth and detail to the images than ever before.
11NASA praised the work of the Webb development team and said the telescope had begun "a new era in astronomy."
12NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the images demonstrated how the telescope will help "uncover the answers to questions we don't even yet know to ask."
13The head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, said the new telescope had "really changed the understanding of our universe."
14The Webb is a large infrared telescope, with a 6.5-meter mirror.
15Infrared waves are electromagnetic energy that cannot be seen with the human eye.
16The waves exist at a wavelength that is good for observing distant objects through gas and dust.
17The infrared system can also pick up light from more distant parts of the universe.
18The telescope's large mirror and scientific instruments are protected by a thick cover.
19When fully open, the cover is about the size of a tennis court.
20NASA officials say astronomers will use the telescope to further study the formation and development of stars, galaxies and exoplanets.
21The $10 billion telescope was launched in December after years of delays and cost overruns.
22It took about a month to reach its orbiting position about 1.6 million kilometers away from Earth.
23In the months since then, NASA has been fully deploying and testing the telescope.
24The first images were chosen by NASA to demonstrate the telescope's abilities and provide a look ahead to possible new science discoveries.
25The image shown during an event at the White House was a "deep field" image of a distant galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723.
26NASA said the image provided the most detailed look yet at the early universe.
27Among the other four images were two that showed huge clouds of gas and dust - called nebulas.
28The Carina Nebula is an area where stars are forming, and the Southern Ring Nebula surrounds a dying star.
29Each is thousands of light years away.
30The collection also included new images of another galaxy cluster known as Stephan's Quintet, which was first discovered in 1877.
31The cluster includes several galaxies that NASA describes as "locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters."
32Another image showed a detailed examination of data on a large planet outside our solar system called WASP-96b.
33The telescope used its infrared equipment to look at the chemical makeup of the planet's atmosphere.
34NASA said it discovered the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time.
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The American space agency NASA has released the first images observed by its powerful James Webb Space Telescope. 2NASA describes the Webb as "the largest and most powerful space science telescope ever built." The telescope is a joint partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency. 3The orbiting observatory aims to build on the work of earlier telescopes, such as the Hubble and Spitzer. Both of those telescopes led to many discoveries and captured detailed and colorful images. But the Webb is designed to gather more in-depth data and explore parts of space never observed before. 4NASA released five new images this week. The first was shown Monday during a White House event attended by President Joe Biden. 5The new images showed parts of the universe observed by other telescopes in the past. But NASA officials said the Webb's power, distant position, and ability to observe infrared light brought more depth and detail to the images than ever before. 6NASA praised the work of the Webb development team and said the telescope had begun "a new era in astronomy." 7NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the images demonstrated how the telescope will help "uncover the answers to questions we don't even yet know to ask." The head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, said the new telescope had "really changed the understanding of our universe." 8The Webb is a large infrared telescope, with a 6.5-meter mirror. Infrared waves are electromagnetic energy that cannot be seen with the human eye. The waves exist at a wavelength that is good for observing distant objects through gas and dust. The infrared system can also pick up light from more distant parts of the universe. 9The telescope's large mirror and scientific instruments are protected by a thick cover. When fully open, the cover is about the size of a tennis court. 10NASA officials say astronomers will use the telescope to further study the formation and development of stars, galaxies and exoplanets. 11The $10 billion telescope was launched in December after years of delays and cost overruns. It took about a month to reach its orbiting position about 1.6 million kilometers away from Earth. In the months since then, NASA has been fully deploying and testing the telescope. 12The first images were chosen by NASA to demonstrate the telescope's abilities and provide a look ahead to possible new science discoveries. 13The image shown during an event at the White House was a "deep field" image of a distant galaxy cluster called SMACS 0723. NASA said the image provided the most detailed look yet at the early universe. 14Among the other four images were two that showed huge clouds of gas and dust - called nebulas. The Carina Nebula is an area where stars are forming, and the Southern Ring Nebula surrounds a dying star. Each is thousands of light years away. 15The collection also included new images of another galaxy cluster known as Stephan's Quintet, which was first discovered in 1877. The cluster includes several galaxies that NASA describes as "locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters." 16Another image showed a detailed examination of data on a large planet outside our solar system called WASP-96b. The telescope used its infrared equipment to look at the chemical makeup of the planet's atmosphere. NASA said it discovered the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA, The Associated Press and Reuters. 19____________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21era - n. a period of time in history that is known for a particular reason 22mirror - n. a piece of glass with a shiny metallic material on one side that produces an image of anything that is in front of it 23exoplanet - n. a planet orbiting a star that is not our sun 24galaxy - n. a very large group of stars that make up the universe 25cluster - n. a collection of stars or galaxies that appear close together in the sky and are gravitationally linked 26cosmic - adj. relating to the whole universe 27encounter - n. a meeting, especially one that happens by chance 28vapor - n. a substance in a gaseous state as opposed to a liquid or solid 29_________________________________________________________________ 30What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.