Webb Space Telescope Images Mars for the First Time

The Webb Space Telescope has amazed us with photos of distant galaxies and glittering nebulae, however now it’s returned its first pictures of our photo voltaic system neighbor Mars. The newly launched information comes from the telescope’s infrared devices and offers scientists with details about Mars’ floor and atmospheric composition.

The European Space Agency announced today that the Webb Space Telescope caught its first glimpse of Mars on September 5 utilizing the Near-Infrared Camera and Near-Infrared Spectrograph. This first view of Mars from the telescope is definitely made up of two pictures taken at two infrared wavelengths. It exhibits the sun-soaked Eastern Hemisphere of the planet, which Webb noticed from its vantage level almost 932,000 miles (1.5 kilometers) away at Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2.

The first picture (prime proper within the above graphic) exhibits a view of Mars in 2.1 microns, whereas the second (backside proper) was taken in 4.3 microns—each wavelengths that correspond to the close to infrared spectrum, which isn’t seen to the human eye.

Webb additionally collected some spectroscopic information on the Martian ambiance utilizing the Near-Infrared Spectrograph. The spectrograph reveals a few of the molecules that make up Mars’ extremely skinny ambiance, together with carbon dioxide, water, and carbon monoxide, which correspond to the highlighted dips within the graph. While this isn’t a groundbreaking conclusion, it does present Webb’s skill to precisely characterize the atmospheric composition of various planets.

By pointing Webb’s stare upon a well-studied planet like Mars, scientists can set up how dependable the high-tech telescope is at learning very distant celestial our bodies. As Webb continues to set its sights on objects clear throughout the universe, we’re nonetheless excited to get new views of our cosmic yard, just like the latest view of a glowing Jupiter and its auroras.