Over six months after James Webb’s launch, we’ll get our first glimpse of full-colour images from the telescope. According to the European Space Agency, the imagery and first spectroscopic data will be unveiled on July 12th.
Eric Smith; Webb deputy program director “ The release of Webb’s first full-colour images will offer a unique moment for us all to stop and marvel at a view humanity has never seen before, these images will be the culmination of decades of dedication, talent, and dreams — but they will also be just the beginning.”
NASA has shared some images that JWST captured during the preparation phase, but it’s unclear exactly what the full-colour images will look like. Joseph DePasquale STScI lead science visuals developer said “Of course, there are things we are expecting and hoping to see, but with a new telescope and this new high-resolution infrared data, we just won’t know until we see it”
After the observatory captures its first images proper, astronomers will analyze data captured by the JWST’s infrared sensors and publish papers on their findings.
Beyond what is already planned for Webb, there are the unexpected discoveries astronomers can’t anticipate. One example: In 1990 when the Hubble Space Telescope launched, dark energy was completely unknown. Now it is one of the most exciting areas of astrophysics.
So, Are you ready for this exciting adventure??